build up

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

To erect; and metaphorically to establish, to found.


In this manner it was thought we should sooner 'build up a settlement,' as the phrase goes. In America, the reader should know, everything is built. The priest builds up a flock; the speculator, a fortune; the lawyer a reputation; and the landlord, a settlement.--Cooper, Satanstoe.

Mr. R. has never done anything, to the Courier and Enquirer to make them hunt him down or cast ridicule on him, while endeavoring to build up for himself, no unsullied character among his fellow-men.--N. Y. Tribune, 1848.

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