The phrasal verb “act up” has several meanings, depending on the context in which it is used:
- To Behave Disruptively or Badly:
- To behave in a way that is disruptive or problematic, often involving misbehavior or troublemaking, especially in children.
- To Malfunction or Not Work Properly:
- To not function correctly or to break down, often used for machinery, equipment, or parts of the body.
Different Meanings and Uses:
- Misbehavior:
- Describes a person, often a child, behaving badly or being troublesome.
- Malfunction:
- Describes something, such as a machine or part of the body, not working as it should or having issues.
Prepositions Used:
- Commonly used prepositions include: “up” (e.g., “act up during the class”).
Collocations:
- Act up in class
- Act up again
- Act up during
- Act up when
- Act up because
- Act up at night
- Act up suddenly
- Act up around
- Act up due to
- Act up if
Example Sentences:
- The children began to act up as soon as the teacher left the room.
- My knee always acts up when it’s about to rain.
- The printer is acting up again; it won’t print anything.
- Her allergies started acting up during the spring season.
- He tends to act up when he doesn’t get enough attention.
- The old car started acting up on the way to the office.
- The dog acts up whenever there are strangers around.
- My back acts up if I sit for too long.
- The computer acts up whenever I try to run that software.
- The kids act up in class when the substitute teacher is there.
- Her stomach acts up if she eats too quickly.
- The washing machine has been acting up lately.
- He started acting up because he was feeling left out.
- The engine acted up during the long drive.
- His asthma acts up in cold weather.
- The toddler acts up when he’s tired.
- My phone acts up whenever I try to open that app.
- The microwave acted up and stopped working completely.
- The student acts up to get attention from his peers.
- The lawnmower started acting up in the middle of mowing the lawn.
- Her knee acted up after the long hike.
- The television acts up when the weather is bad.
- He acts up during dinner to avoid eating vegetables.
- The dishwasher acted up and leaked water everywhere.
- His arthritis acts up in damp weather.
- The software acts up whenever there’s an update.
- The children act up when they have too much sugar.
- The heater acted up and stopped working in the middle of winter.
- She acts up when she’s nervous about something.
- The air conditioner acted up and made a strange noise.
- The student acted up to make his friends laugh.
- The camera started acting up just before the big event.
- Her skin acts up when she uses certain lotions.
- The microwave acts up if it’s running for too long.
- The toddler acted up because he missed his nap.
- The computer acted up during the important presentation.
- His back acted up after he lifted the heavy box.
- The kids act up when they are bored.
- The clock acts up and shows the wrong time occasionally.
- The cat acts up when it’s time to go to the vet.
- The refrigerator acted up and stopped cooling properly.
- His allergies act up when the pollen count is high.
- The car acts up if I don’t start it regularly.
- The baby acts up when he needs a diaper change.
- The software acted up and crashed my computer.
- The dog acted up because it heard a loud noise.
- The oven acts up and doesn’t heat evenly.
- The students act up when they are excited about a holiday.
- His stomach acted up because he ate something spicy.
- The GPS acted up and took us on a longer route.