let up
Britishverb
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to diminish, slacken, or stop
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informal (foll by on) to be less harsh (towards someone)
noun
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See let down , def. 2.
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Cease, stop entirely, as in The rain has let up so we can go out . [Late 1700s]
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let up on . Be or become more lenient with, take the pressure off, as in Why don't you let up on the child? [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Without a break, Dudamel began Estévez’s complex cantata, which he conducted from memory, with a searing fury that did not let up for 35 minutes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
“They don’t let up with the phone calls,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
However, after clawing her way back to 5-4 from 5-1 down in the tie-break, Raducanu's resistance let up and Sierra secured victory after an hour and 45 minutes.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
Luna and Leger Fernández still didn’t let up, saying that they would force the votes to expel the representatives if their resignations weren’t officially tendered by 2 p.m.
From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026
Students didn’t let up for one minute, chirping on about my folks, my mother’s teaching, and things I considered personal and sacred.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
