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Definition of psych up - 5 dictionary results

psych

1  [sahyk]
Use psych up in a Sentence
–verb (used with object) Informal.
1. to intimidate or frighten psychologically, or make nervous (often fol. by out): to psych out the competition.
2. to prepare psychologically to be in the right frame of mind or to give one's best (often fol. by up): to psych oneself up for an interview.
3. to figure out psychologically; decipher (often fol. by out): to psych out a problem.
Also, psyche.

Origin:
1915–20 in earlier sense “to subject to psychoanalysis”; orig. a shortening of psychoanalyze; in later use (especially in defs. 1 and 2) perh. independent use of psych-
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
psych (so) up

  1. tv.
    to get someone excited or mentally prepared for something. (See also psyched (up).) : I psyched myself up to sing in front of all those people.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

psych 
short for psychology in various senses; as an academic study, in student slang by 1895. The verb is generally negative when used transitively, positive when intransitive; first attested (also psych out) 1934 as "to outsmart," from 1963 as "to unnerve." However to psych (oneself) up is from 1972; to be psyched up is attested from 1968.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: psych
Function: abbreviation
psychology
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

psych up

Excite emotionally, as in The chorus was really psyched up for performing in Symphony Hall. [Slang; c. 1970]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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