BUILD

up [phrasal verb] [I or M] - to (cause to) increase or become larger or strongerTraffic on the new bypass is building up. [I]Tension is building up between the two communities. [I]They gave him soup to build up his strength [M]They gave him soup to build him up (= make him stronger). [T]It took her ten years to build up her publishing business (= make it strong and successful). [M]To build up something/build something up also means to praise it, esp. in a way which will influence people's opinions.For weeks the media has been building up the national basketball team.