sober up
verb
sobered up; sobering up; sobers up
: to become sober or less drunk or to make (a drunk person) sober or less drunk
You need to sober up before you go.
I tried to sober her up.
I have to sober myself up.
Examples of sober up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Moore was found drinking in a Toronto pub then helped to sober up before the game. —
Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 Until then, there’s one last heart-to-heart, and this one is between Amanda and Kyle, who has sobered up enough to talk about their relationship. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026 The Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter commended Martin for handling the break-in, and confirmed the raccoon had sobered up. —CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025 Early next year, the Lurie administration plans to open a new sobering center — overseen by the sheriff’s office and run by a city contractor — where officers could take people arrested for public drug use to sober up and get connected to treatment. —Maggie Angst, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Nov. 2025 Even Wall Street, which lately has been drunk on a cocktail of AI hype and rate-cut anticipation, briefly sobered up to take in the Thursday wholesale report. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025 Richardson had a heart attack soon after sobering up, then, depressed, another in the taxi coming from the hospital, and was gone by 2012. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 Until then, there’s one last heart-to-heart, and this one is between Amanda and Kyle, who has sobered up enough to talk about their relationship. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026 The Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter commended Martin for handling the break-in, and confirmed the raccoon had sobered up. —CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025 Early next year, the Lurie administration plans to open a new sobering center — overseen by the sheriff’s office and run by a city contractor — where officers could take people arrested for public drug use to sober up and get connected to treatment. —Maggie Angst, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Nov. 2025 Even Wall Street, which lately has been drunk on a cocktail of AI hype and rate-cut anticipation, briefly sobered up to take in the Thursday wholesale report. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025 Richardson had a heart attack soon after sobering up, then, depressed, another in the taxi coming from the hospital, and was gone by 2012. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sober up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/sober%20up. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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