Academic English #72. move up: to bring forward

‘Move up’ is a very versatile phrasal verb that goes beyond simply meaning ‘to go up’ and, depending on the situation, can express schedule changes, promotions, level improvements, and more.

In everyday conversation, it is often used when bringing a schedule or plan forward, and in academic or business English, it often appears when talking about changes in presentation order or research stages.

Let’s look at the patterns native speakers in the U.S. use most naturally, along with examples that can be applied in academic settings.

3 Everyday English Examples

• We moved the meeting up to tomorrow. → We moved up the meeting to tomorrow.

• The flight was moved up earlier than expected. → The flight was moved up earlier than expected.

• They suggested moving up the presentation by a day. → They suggested moving up the presentation by a day.

Academic and Professional English Examples

• My presentation has been moved up by one day. → My presentation has been moved up by one day.

• The session schedule was changed, so my talk is now in the morning. → The session schedule was moved up, so my talk is now in the morning.

• The entire research timeline is moving ahead faster than expected. → The entire research timeline has been moved up ahead of schedule.

It is easy to remember ‘move up’ as the opposite of ‘postpone.’

In other words, it can be used both when bringing a time or order forward and when raising a position or level.

Native speakers also often keep it brief by using ‘it’ as the object, as in “Let’s move it up.”