Level up is a phrasal verb that you, dear gamer reader , are certainly familiar with. Level being the word for “level”, level up has come to mean “to advance in level”, and is used almost universally with video games of all kinds.
However, look up level up in the leading American English dictionary, Merriam-Webster, and you won’t find a result.
Why this?
The answer is interesting because it shows us the (very human and quite subjective) process by which dictionaries are created and expanded. For a term to enter the dictionary, it must not only have become widespread in its environment, but also have been used continuously for a sufficiently long period. Level up is certainly a widespread term, but according to Merriam-Webster’s criteria, more time needs to pass before we can say that it has been incorporated into the English language.
Can we? No – can we. Webster can wait, but our readers (who don’t play video games) aren’t that patient, so here goes…
(Just kidding, guys, you guys are the best. You guys… are the real heroes
1 – “Advance a level”, “pass a level”. Sometimes, simply “advance”.
Players battle with monsters, gain experience , and level up to become more powerful .
It’s all about levelling up your character’s abilities.
The important thing is to advance your character’s abilities.
You ‘ll probably need to level up a couple of times before you try to take on the boss in this stage.
The
scenarios became more complex and difficult as I leveled up .
2 – We have another meaning for level up . It is a little rarer, but it is used: “to level” or “straighten” an object physically. For example, when you put something under one of the legs of a wobbly table:
Use a piece of wood under the table’s leg to level it up .
I will level up the table .
I used a scraper to level the wet cement up .
3 – As you saw in the previous meaning, level up can be a transitive verb – that is, a verb that has an object, a verb that impacts something. This also occurs here, where level up means “to equalize” something – for example, the score in a game.
One more goal from the visiting team leveled up the score .
A late field goal has leveled up the game between the two .
This approach has levelled standards up across the sector .
Here I will conclude today’s post, but as always, feel free to ask questions in the comments if anything is not clear.
