built-up

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

North Korea, believing that Chinese-style economic reforms would endanger the absolute control of the Kim dynasty, built up a nuclear arsenal to shore up the regime’s power indefinitely.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

The country has diversified its energy sources, including into renewables, and had built up its strategic petroleum reserve to a greater extent than others, giving it some extra cushion.

From Barron's • May 30, 2026

She said border officials were proactively suspending EES checks if long waits built up.

From BBC • May 29, 2026

To be sure, U.S. households are no longer flush with the excess savings built up during the pandemic era.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

Since Asian mainland infectious diseases were well established in Indonesia, New Guineans thereby gained long exposure and built up much more resistance to Eurasian germs than did Aboriginal Australians.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond