How to Use rough up in a Sentence

rough up

verb
  • Be careful when using anything abrasive, which can strip paint or rough up high-gloss surfaces.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Royals right-handed starter Stephen Kolek was roughed up early.
    — Kansas City Star, 21 June 2026
  • The melamine foam sponge works like a very fine sandpaper, so be aware this can remove paint and rough up a high-gloss finish.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Orioles starter Chris Bassitt (0-2) was roughed up for six runs in two innings.
    — ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Bills quarterback Josh Allen had to check out after being roughed up on a play.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Nov. 2025
  • News that a conservative speaker has been roughed up by a college crowd is barely news anymore.
    — Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Boston starter Brayan Bello (1-2) was roughed up for four runs in four innings.
    — CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Nicole Bodeaux, a senior righty, gets the start for Houston, and she gets roughed up for four hits and four runs - all with two outs.
    — Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Did not hear a peep from Minnesota sports fans when the Timberwolves were roughing up the Nuggets.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
  • But Florida’s version is getting roughed up every other game.
    — Noah White, Miami Herald, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Twenty-four hours after they were roughed up by the Dallas Stars, 8-3, the Ducks never trailed.
    — Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 21 Dec. 2025
  • Neighborhood and state leaders have been roughed up and arrested, only to be released by federal court order.
    — Binaifer Nowrojee, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
  • There are going to be moments when the line gets roughed up against a physical team like Winnipeg, but the passing skill on display was impressive.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
  • In the first matchup, the Pistons tried to rough up Victor Wembanyama the entire night, and shut them down in the fourth quarter.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • The Jays rapped out 18 hits, roughing up Seattle starter George Kirby for eight runs in four innings.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Another way to encourage mums to become well-established before winter is to rough up the root ball with your gloved hand or trowel before planting.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Bradley was also roughed up in his first start as a Twin, giving up seven runs in five innings pitched against the Chicago White Sox.
    — Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Use fine-grit sandpaper to lightly rough up slick surfaces so the glue has something to grip, then wipe everything down with an alcohol wipe to remove oils (yes, even on a brand-new book).
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 19 May 2026
  • Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s shag looks effortlessly cool parted to the side and roughed up with a texturizing spray.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
  • The three veteran-most of the bunch combined to rough up Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola early in Saturday’s game.
    — Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Bendy and flexible to gently comb through hair without tugging, pulling, or roughing up hair with tension, this unfurls any tangles and knots painlessly, thanks to the flexible bristles.
    — Brianna Peters, Vogue, 24 Nov. 2025
  • Instead, the Falcons will make trips to Pittsburgh and Green Bay in September before things really get rough up north.
    — Josh Kendall, New York Times, 15 May 2026
  • After a 2025 season derailed by injury, Caitlin Clark was roughed up once again on Wednesday night, leaving the game with a back injury after taking a fist to the throat earlier in the game.
    — Mason Leib, ABC News, 25 June 2026
  • Activists and politicians accused DHS officers of smashing car windows, roughing up bystanders who tried to record their activities and detaining immigrants in squalid conditions.
    — Dallas Morning News, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Victor Caratini had a sacrifice fly and Brooks Lee added a two-run double as the Twins roughed up three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer.
    — Ian Harrison, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
  • The Wolverines moving in and USC dropping out just a week after the Trojans roughed up Michigan in Los Angeles was a curious choice by voters.
    — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
  • While he got roughed up in his fourth rehab start on Tuesday, the Yankees are eagerly awaiting the return of the 2023 Cy Young winner and hope to have him back by early June, if not a little sooner.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026
  • The Pittsburgh Steelers came out victorious in Ireland, but quarterback Skylar Thompson was reportedly roughed up and robbed two days before their game against the Minnesota Vikings kicked off.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Tyler Soderstrom hit his first two homers this season and drove in five runs Saturday as the Athletics roughed up Kodai Senga in an 11-6 victory over the struggling New York Mets.
    — CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The American weather model projects the nor’easter will stay slightly farther offshore and run a bit farther north, limiting the number of days the storm roughs up the Southeast coast, but bringing more rain, wind and choppy seas to the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rough up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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