use up

finish all of something so there is none left

B1

What does "use sth up" mean?

To use up something means to consume all of it until there is nothing left. The focus is on the action of finishing a supply — someone or something is actively depleting it. You can use it for physical things like food, fuel, or ink, and also for more abstract resources like time, money, or phone data. For example, if you use up all the milk, you drank or cooked with every last drop. It has a practical, everyday feel and works equally well when talking about cooking leftovers, draining a budget, or running down a phone battery.

Examples

How to use it

use up + object

The most common pattern, used when the object is a noun phrase that follows the particle.

We used up all the hot chocolate making drinks for everyone.

use + short noun object + up

Short noun objects very naturally appear between the verb and the particle.

I used the milk up before I remembered we needed it for the recipe.

use + pronoun + up

Pronouns must always go between the verb and the particle — this rule has no exceptions.

We had some leftover pasta, so we used it up for lunch.

object + be used up

The passive form is natural and describes a state where a supply has been completely consumed.

All the storage space on my phone was used up by videos.

use up + object + verb-ing / in + noun phrase

You can add a phrase to explain what the resource was consumed on or in.

They used up the entire budget in the first month of the project.

Common Collocations

use up the budgetuse up energyuse up leftoversuse up resourcesuse up storageuse up time

Common Mistakes

Pronoun placement

When the object is a pronoun like 'it' or 'them', it must go between the verb and 'up'. Placing it after 'up' is ungrammatical.

✗ We had some leftover cheese, so we used up it.
✓ We had some leftover cheese, so we used it up.
Confusing 'use up' with 'run out of'

'Use up' focuses on the act of consuming a supply ('we used up the butter while baking'), while 'run out of' focuses on the resulting state of having nothing left ('we ran out of butter'). They are close in meaning but not always interchangeable — 'use up' needs an agent doing the consuming.

✗ The butter used up, so we couldn't finish the cake.
✓ We used up the butter, so we couldn't finish the cake.

Usage

This phrasal verb is neutral and works in both spoken and written English worldwide. It often appears in practical, everyday contexts like cooking, finances, and technology (e.g. 'I've used up all my data').

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use 'use up' for things like time, money, or energy — not just physical things?

Yes, absolutely. 'Use up' works well with abstract or measurable resources like time, budget, data, and storage space. For example, 'The meetings used up most of my afternoon' or 'I've used up all my data this month' are both natural and very common.

Does 'use up' always need an object?

Yes — 'use up' is always transitive, which means it always needs an object. You can't say 'we used up' and stop there; you need to say what was used up, for example 'we used up the supplies' or 'we used them up'.

Can I use 'use up' in the passive?

Yes, the passive is very natural with 'use up'. It's often used to describe a situation where a resource has been fully consumed, for example 'All the ink was used up' or 'The budget had been used up weeks before the deadline'.

Does 'use up' have more than one meaning?

This entry covers the main sense — consuming all of a supply until nothing remains. There is also an informal sense where 'use up' can mean to exhaust a person completely, as in 'that long shift really used me up'. However, this is a separate meaning and context usually makes it clear which one is intended.

Is 'use up' used in cooking contexts?

Yes, it's very commonly used in cooking, especially when you want to finish ingredients before they go to waste. Phrases like 'use up the leftover rice' or 'use up the vegetables before they go bad' are natural and frequently used in everyday conversation and recipes.

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