Drink sth up Meaning, Examples & How to Use This Phrasal Verb

What Does “Drink sth up” Mean?

“Drink sth up” means to finish drinking all of a beverage completely. It is often used when encouraging someone to consume the remaining drink quickly or fully.

Introduction

The phrase “Drink sth up” is a common phrasal verb in English. The “sth” stands for “something,” usually a drink like water, juice, or coffee. The phrase means to drink all of the liquid until there is none left. This expression is useful in everyday conversations, especially when someone wants you to finish your drink or when talking about drinking habits. Understanding the “Drink sth up meaning” helps learners communicate more naturally and clearly in social situations. It also adds variety to your speaking and writing by replacing simpler verbs like “drink.”

Quick Info Box

• Phrasal verb: Drink something up
• Type: Transitive
• Level: A2 – B1
• Short meaning: To finish drinking a beverage completely

Structure (Grammar Rules)

“Drink sth up” is a separable phrasal verb. This means the object (something) can come between “drink” and “up” or after “up.”

• Drink something up (e.g., Drink your juice up.)
• Drink up something (e.g., Drink up your juice.)

Both forms are correct and commonly used.

How to Use “Drink sth up”?

You use “Drink sth up” when you want to say that someone should finish their drink. It can be a polite reminder, a command, or simply a description of what happened. For example, a parent might tell a child to “drink your milk up” before leaving the table. It can also describe a situation in the past, like “He drank up all the water after the game.” The phrase often implies that the drink is now empty or nearly empty.

Examples

When you are at a party and someone offers you a drink, you might hear:

• “Come on, drink your soda up!”
• “She drank up her coffee before the meeting started.”
• “Please drink up your juice so we can go outside.”
• “He drank up all the water after his run.”
• “They drank their cocktails up quickly.”

Here is how to use “Drink sth up in a sentence”: “Make sure to drink your tea up before it gets cold.”

Common Mistakes

Sometimes learners confuse the placement of the object or forget to use “up.” For example:

• Incorrect: “Drink up your soda it’s cold.”
• Correct: “Drink your soda up; it’s cold.”
• Incorrect: “Drink the water.” (Missing “up” if you want to emphasize finishing)
• Correct: “Drink the water up.”

Remember, “up” is important to show the action of finishing the drink.

Differences / Synonyms

Similar phrasal verbs include “drink down” and “drink off.” However, they have different meanings:

• Drink down: To swallow a drink completely, often quickly.
• Drink off: To finish a drink, sometimes to get rid of it.

“Drink sth up” specifically focuses on finishing the drink fully and is the most common expression for this idea.

Common Collocations

When using “Drink sth up,” certain drinks often appear as objects:

• Drink water up: Finish drinking water
• Drink coffee up: Finish coffee completely
• Drink juice up: Finish juice
• Drink tea up: Finish tea
• Drink milk up: Finish milk

Related Phrasal Verbs

Here are related phrasal verbs of drink sth up:

• Drink In Sth
• Drink To Sth
• Drink Sb Down
• Drink To Sb

Real-life Dialogue

Here is a short conversation using “Drink sth up”:

Mom: “Please drink your milk up before it gets warm.”

Child: “Okay, I’m almost done!”

Mom: “Great! Then we can go to the park.”

Practice

Try filling in the blanks with the correct form of the phrasal verb:

• “Don’t forget to ______ your juice ______ before the movie starts.”
• “He quickly ______ all the water after the run.”
• “Could you please ______ your tea ______?”

FAQs

• Q: Can “drink sth up” be used with alcoholic drinks?
  Yes, it can be used with any drink, including alcohol.
• Q: Is “drink sth up” formal or informal?
  It is informal and commonly used in casual conversations.
• Q: Can the object be a pronoun?
  Yes, for example, “Drink it up.”
• Q: What does “up” add to the meaning?
  “Up” emphasizes finishing the drink completely.
• Q: Can “drink up” be used without an object?
  Yes, but it usually means to finish a drink already mentioned.