| ring up ring up (something) 1. to record the prices of items being bought. Their groceries had already been rung up at the cash register. If a sales clerk forgets to ring something up do you call it to his or her attention? Usage notes: from pushing keys on an old-fashioned cash register - a machine that records a sale and stores the money received, which made a ringing sound 2. to earn or lose a particular amount of money. His division, which employs about 300 people worldwide, rang up $50 million in sales last year. |