crumple up

crumple up

1. Of paper, fabric, or a similar material, to form into a ball. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "crumple" and "up." My first draft of the poem was so bad that I just crumpled it up and threw it in the trash can. You can't just keep crumpling up your shirts and throwing them back in the closet—use the hamper please! Let me get this straight—you got in trouble because you crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at the back of somebody's head in the middle of class? Why would you do that?

2. To collapse. I hardly remember the end of the marathon because I crumpled up as soon as I crossed the finish line. If you don't stay hydrated in this extreme heat, you're liable to crumple up. After a full day at the amusement park, we were all ready to crumple up—thankfully, our hotel was just a short walk away.

See also: up

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

crumple something up

to fold up or crush someone or something. Walter crumpled the paper up. He crumpled up the paper.

See also: up

crumple up

to fold up; to collapse. She was so frightened that she just crumpled up. Fran crumpled up in a dead faint.

See also: up

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.