ham it up
/hæm ɪt ʌp/
Meaning
This casual idiom means to act in an exaggerated, theatrical, or over-the-top way, often to get attention or make people laugh. It is commonly used to describe actors who overact or anyone behaving dramatically in daily life.
Examples
-
The actor decided to ham it up as the villain, making the character hilariously dramatic.
The actor decided to ham it up as the villain, making the character hilariously dramatic.
-
Whenever a camera is pointed at him, he starts to ham it up for the lens.
Whenever a camera is pointed at him, he starts to ham it up for the lens.
-
The school play was charming because the kids really hammed it up on stage.
The school play was charming because the kids really hammed it up on stage.
-
Instead of delivering a serious speech, the host hammed it up with funny voices.
Instead of delivering a serious speech, the host hammed it up with funny voices.
-
She loves to ham it up when she tells stories, using wild hand gestures and expressions.
She loves to ham it up when she tells stories, using wild hand gestures and expressions.
Common Mistakes
-
✗ He was hammed it up during the scene.
✓ He was hamming it up during the scene.
When using the continuous aspect, the verb 'ham' gets the '-ing' ending, resulting in 'hamming'.
-
✗ She always hams up it when she acts.
✓ She always hams it up when she acts.
This is a phrasal verb where the pronoun 'it' must go between the verb 'ham' and the particle 'up'.
Related Expressions
Practice
-
The theater students love to ___ during comedy scenes.
💡 To act in an exaggerated, playful way.
Show answer
ham it up
-
He really ___ for the cameras at the red carpet event.
💡 Past tense. Overacted or posed dramatically.
Show answer
hammed it up