well up en · VERB · etymology 1
Meanings
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(intransitive) To gradually or steadily flow upwards or outwards so as to begin to fill or overflow something.
A spring wells up in the centre of the village, and watercress beds lie beside the stream running alongside the main street.
1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 178:Oil was welling up out of the borehole.
As soon as I heard news of his death, tears started to well up in my eyes.
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(broadly, figuratively, of an emotion) To accumulate within one, to the point of overwhelming one.
“I had to leave my job because I just couldn’t … yeah,” Tina says, welling up.
2023 December 22, Robyn Vinter, “‘That’s how we’ve got to live’: the black market in England’s shoplifting capital”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:Emotion welled up inside me.
A barely audible groan welled up in the Captain's throat as the grinning Freedom Fighter circled around behind the helpless American Soldier. The groan sputtered into a strangled, "No… no… don't.... " as Randall felt the juicy tip of the man's tumescent cock jab against his hair-ringed, virgin asshole.
1991, Etienne, “In Enemy Hands”, in Drummer, number 151, page 32:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wells up | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| welled up | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| welled up | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| welling up | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Translations (26)
mi whakapuke (to flow upwards or outwards) · fi kummuta (to flow upwards or outwards) · sv välla ut (to flow upwards or outwards) · fi pursuta (to flow upwards or outwards) · bg заструявам (to flow upwards or outwards) · ru нахлы́нуть ((of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming) · ota قبارمق (to flow upwards or outwards) · ota شیشمك (to flow upwards or outwards) · fi pulputa (to flow upwards or outwards) · de hervorquellen (to flow upwards or outwards) · pl wzbierać (to flow upwards or outwards) · ru напо́лнить ((of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming) · eo suprenflui (to flow upwards or outwards) · mi kōmanawa ((of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming) · pl zebrać się ((of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming) · pl zbierać się ((of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming) · it salire in petto ((of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming) · nl opwellen (to flow upwards or outwards) · mi whakapupuke (to flow upwards or outwards) · bg шуртя (to flow upwards or outwards) · pl wezbrać (to flow upwards or outwards) · bg бликам (to flow upwards or outwards) · it sgorgare a fiotti (to flow upwards or outwards) · sv välla fram (to flow upwards or outwards) · sv välla (to flow upwards or outwards) · fi kummuta ((of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming)