also buildup, build up
(~s)
1.
A ~ is a gradual increase in something.
There has been a ~ of troops on both sides of the border...
The disease can also cause a build up of pressure in the inner ear leading to severe earache.
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n
2.
The ~ to an event is the way that journalists, advertisers, or other people talk about it a lot in the period of time immediately before it, and try to make it seem important and exciting.
The exams came, almost an anti-climax after the ~ that the students had given them.
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N to n