Definition of psych in English:

verb

• 1usually psych someone upinformal Mentally prepare (someone) for a testing task or occasion.

  ‘we had to psych ourselves up for the race’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The Dublin team was clearly psyched up in preparation for the early exchanges and a Paul Gibbons miscalculation presented them with a scoring opportunity that was smothered by Gavin Dowling.’
  • ‘Along the way, which was only a five minute drive, Lyle silently listened to the uplifting music, and mentally psyched himself up for the date that was less than half an hour away from taking place.’
  • ‘It was a big disappointment because we'd been psyching ourselves up for it.’
  • ‘I'd psyched myself up mentally to face Branco and what I would have to do.’
  • ‘Last year we weren't expected to do anything, so we psyched ourselves up and tore into them.’
  • ‘Sam and myself were keen to have a ferret around in Pippikin via Mistral, but Alan was all psyched up to do his first trip down Lancaster Hole.’
  • ‘For me, though, all three flawed records are thick with interest, and Remain In Light is still the best LP I know for psyching me up to get through city bustle.’
  • ‘I'm all psyched up for it, and I want to get it over with.’
  • ‘It's partly just mental - the whole emotion surrounding this race really psyched me up.’
  • ‘‘Just being on the field psychs you up,’ he says.’

  Synonyms

  nerve oneself, steel oneself, gather up one's courage, screw up one's courage, summon up one's courage, prepare, prepare oneself, gear oneself up, arm oneself, brace oneself, get ready, urge oneself on, gird one's loins, gird up one's loins, get in the mood, get in the right frame of mind

  1. 1.1as adjective psychedExcited and full of anticipation.
     ‘we've told him you were coming—he's really psyched’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The best way to stay psyched is to keep a reminder of the way things were before.’
     • ‘I must admit it that it is a bit hard to get psyched to prepare for this panel by reading this term's opinions but duty calls.’
     • ‘Even if I've read about a movie, I don't get really psyched until I see the trailer (say Kill Bill).’
     • ‘With Strachan also psyched to the gills, that spells trouble for the rest who had their days in the sun last season.’
     • ‘I'm still going to rent it but now I'm not so psyched about it, which I guess is a good thing.’
     • ‘I remember when Fellowship of the Ring came out, I was really psyched, and no one else around me was.’
     • ‘I was not psyched to be in New York in the winter for seven weeks and I found that the label was definitely focusing on certain members of the band - not focusing on me - with the song selection and choices of what was on the record.’
     • ‘‘I'm just psyched; I've been around long enough to help make so many great changes in the bike industry,’ Fisher said.’
     • ‘I was too psyched about Halloween to sleep more than a restless sleep.’
     • ‘The next day of school was one of those great days in a young girl's life, when you're psyched to go to school and find out if there is any gossip about you.’

• 2Analyse (something) in psychological terms.

  ‘mother had it all psyched out in three minutes’

  More example sentences

  • ‘It was as though the dragon was attempting to psyche his foes out before the confrontation even started in the heat of the desert.’
  • ‘With Trescothick out of the Test and probably the series with injury, the young off-spinner should have had no trouble in psyching the English batsmen out.’
  • ‘But he takes more wickets because he psyches batsmen out.’
  • ‘The women hassle the men also, and in fact I have to say Lana rocks at the way she psychs the men out.’
  • ‘What about the idea, Michael, of psyching your opponent out, does that actually come into any formal analysis of performance?’

  1. 2.1Subject (someone) to psychological investigation or psychotherapy.
     ‘he's been psyched to the best of our skill’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Without this knowledge, the way Ali psyches him and fights him appears incomprehensible.’
     • ‘We were psyched in some way that only the French could make cheese.’

• 3

  (also psyche)

  Bridge
  no object Make a psychic bid.

  ‘I don't think it is any more unsportsmanlike to psych against a pair that may not be able to field it than it is to bid an aggressive contract that might require some help from the defense.’

  ‘Stanford reached 4S after the auction began p-p-p-1S; Berkeley reached the same spot but only after Altus had been allowed to psych a 1D opening with the east cards, a point which may have had some influence on the play.’

noun

• 1informal

  short for psychiatrist or psychologist

  More example sentences

  • ‘There appears to have been a concerted effort to make this a professional publication, but without many of the psycho-babble words you often hear psychs using.’
  • ‘And the psych said the screaming was probably from the trauma of being shot.’
  • ‘During the interview after doing a brief 10 min test the psych said I would have difficulty in dealing with the course.’
  • ‘Also, he fainted a couple of days ago, and the psych said he thought it was hypotension but was going to keep him longer to see.’

  1. 1.1
     short for psychiatry or psychology
     More example sentences

     • ‘The med/psych and the law / psych degrees are two completely different courses which are available.’
     • ‘She was only one of the six other girls in that psych class.’
     • ‘In sports psych lingo, this is referred to as ‘facilitation versus debilitation.’’
     • ‘I bet if someone polled students finishing their 3rd year psych clerkships, they'd find we're a lot more comfortable recommending Zyprexa or Remeron than before.’
     • ‘Harking back to college psych textbooks, you know he is nothing if not a case study in passive aggression.’

• 2

  (also psyche)

  Bridge
  A psychic bid.

  ‘So if someone psyches against you, don't get annoyed, it is just part of bridge: perhaps you might try a psyche yourself next time you play against them!’

  ‘Whilst psyches are a legal and legitimate part of the game of bridge, and as such, are permissible within BCL, the guidelines of the WBF state that "the laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge 1997 permit a player to make a psychic call provided that such calls are not based on a partnership understanding."’

adjective