Save up means to put money aside for something: a trip, a car, a flat. Up stresses that the amount builds gradually towards a clear goal. People also use it about things they keep for the right moment: days of holiday, bonus points.
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save up (for + thing); save up + amount; save up to + verb
- I'm saving up for a trip to Japan next spring, so no expensive dinners for me.
- She saved up £2,000 from her summer job to pay for driving lessons.
- We're saving up to buy a flat, so we've stopped eating out.
What changed
First versionI'm saving up on a new laptop before the autumn term.
RevisionI'm saving up for a new laptop before the autumn term.
On can seem natural for the thing you're saving towards, but in English the goal of saving is introduced with for: save up for a laptop. With on you get save on, meaning to spend less on something, so the sentence is about paying less for a laptop, not collecting money for one.
Save on means to spend less on something: We save on heating by closing the doors. Save up for means to put money aside for something: We're saving up for a holiday. You can also leave out up (I'm saving for a car), but with up the gradual build-up comes through more clearly.
Your turn
Tom puts aside ten pounds every week because he's saving up ___ a new bike.
Show the answer
for — Tom puts money aside to buy a bike. That's a goal, so for. With on it would mean he's spending less on a bike, and he doesn't even have one yet.
Describe something you're saving up for now or saved up for in the past. Say how long it took and what you gave up.
Last year I saved up for a new phone for six months and gave up buying takeaway coffee to do it.
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