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even up

/ˌivən əp/
IPA guide

Other forms: evened up; evens up

To even up is to make something more balanced or equal. If you don't even up your little sisters' Halloween candy, making sure they have the same number of treats, you'll never hear the end of it!

You even up when you bring something unequal or uneven back into balance. If basketball scores even up in the second half, the teams are tied. And to even up everyone's soda, just pour a little more in the glass that came up short. Another way to even something up is to align it, the way you even up a stack of papers by tapping them on your desk, so the edges are lined up neatly.

Definitions of even up
  1. verb
    adjust for
    see moresee less
    types:
    carry
    compensate for a weaker partner or member by one's own performance
    compensate, cover, overcompensate
    make up for shortcomings or a feeling of inferiority by exaggerating good qualities
    type of:
    balance, equilibrate, equilibrise, equilibrize
    bring into balance or equilibrium
  2. verb
    even up the edges of a stack of paper, in printing
    synonyms: jog, square up
    see moresee less
    type of:
    square
    position so as to be square
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