sober up

phrasal-verb
UK: /ˌsəʊ.bər ˈʌp/
US: /ˌsoʊ.bɚ ˈʌp/

  1. To become less drunk; to become more alert and rational after drinking alcohol.

    1. I need to sober up before I drive home after the party and get some sleep.
    2. He drank a lot of water and had some coffee to try to sober up before his meeting at work.

  2. To cause someone to become less drunk.

    1. A cold shower might sober him up a bit, because he had quite a few beers.
    2. She splashed water on his face hoping to sober him up after he had too much wine.

  3. To become more serious or realistic about something.

    1. The bad news sobered us up quickly, because we realized the situation was very serious.
    2. The reality of the situation sobered up everyone involved and changed their perspectives.
sober up adjective

  1. Having become sober.

    1. I feel sober enough to drive.
    2. He remained sober for the rest of the evening after the incident.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "sober up" in English means: To become less drunk; to become more alert and rational after drinking alcohol., To cause someone to become less drunk., To become more serious or realistic about something..

The phonetic transcription of "sober up" is /ˌsəʊ.bər ˈʌp/ in British English and /ˌsoʊ.bɚ ˈʌp/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Example usage of "sober up": "I need to sober up before I drive home after the party and get some sleep.". More examples on the page.