Starting or Emerging: English Vocabulary List

to appear or arise unexpectedly, often referring to a problem, issue, or situation that was not previously anticipated or planned for

"Problems crop up unexpectedly often."

"Some unexpected problems cropped up at work so I will be late getting home for dinner tonight."

to appear or happen unexpectedly

"New problems keep popping up."

"New problems seem to pop up every time we think we have finally solved the old ones."

to experience a rapid and unexpected emergence of a significant number of things

"New shops sprout up."

"Following the economic boom, new businesses began to sprout up all over the downtown area."

to dedicate one's time and energy to a specific activity or pursuit

"She will take up art."

"After retiring, he decided to take up with painting, dedicating several hours each day to his new hobby."

(of a computer or electronic device) to start and load the operating system into memory for use

"Boot up your computer now."

"It takes about a minute for my old computer to boot up completely after I press the power button."

to establish a fresh entity, such as a company, system, or organization

"Set up the tent carefully."

"They plan to set up a small charity to help homeless people find shelter and food."

to start a process, organization, or activity

"She will start up a business."

"He decided to start up his own consulting firm after gaining years of valuable industry experience."

to begin something, particularly a conversation or relationship

"Let's strike up talk."

"He decided to strike up a friendship with his new neighbor over a shared love of gardening."

to make a new interest or hobby a regular part of one's life

"I will take up tennis."

"She decided to take up painting as a way to relax after work."

to be carried to a destination by the force of water

"The boat was washed up."

"After the storm, numerous pieces of driftwood were washed up along the coastline."