ham it 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.

I decided to ham it up, doing my best Michael Jackson moonwalk, pumicing my bare feet as I dragged them awkwardly across concrete.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2023

Employees can experiment with make-your-own hot chocolate, cider and s’mores and ham it up in a 360-degree photo booth.

From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2022

A high point of the season was an episode in which the crew thought they were characters in a children’s fantasy book, and the cast got to ham it up even more than usual.

From New York Times • Aug. 26, 2022

Trump eagerly agreed to host “The Apprentice” and went on to ham it up as the billionaire kingmaker, yelling “You’re fired” each week until one contestant was left.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 28, 2020

When I was a little kid that used to make me laugh, and she would ham it up by letting them get as steamy as possible and then pretending she couldn’t see me.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon