buildup

[ bild-uhp ]

/ ˈbɪldˌʌp /

a building up, as of military forces; increase in amount or number.

a process of growth; strengthening; development: the buildup of heavy industry.

an accumulation, as of a particular type of material: a buildup of salt deposits.

an increase, as in potential, intensity, or pressure: A buildup of suspense began halfway through the movie.

a progressive or sequential development: the buildup of helium atoms from hydrogen.

praise or publicity designed to enhance a reputation or popularize someone or something: The studio spent $100,000 on the new star's buildup.

a process of preparation designed to make possible the achievement of an ultimate objective: a lengthy buildup to a sales pitch.

encouragement; a psychological lift: Every time I need a buildup, I look at her picture.

Origin of buildup

1925–30, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase build up

The whole season for me was about the buildup to the wedding.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Personal Stories Behind His 'Modern Family' Marriage Arc |Jesse Tyler Ferguson |August 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
That sounds small, but the buildup of Hezbollah forces in Syria was gradual, too.

Hezbollah’s Widening War Spreads to Iraq |Jamie Dettmer |August 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The core of the story is set against the backdrop of the Iraq invasion, the buildup, and the immediate aftermath.

Newsweek Takedown From Beyond the Grave: Michael Hastings’s Fiction Tells the Truth |Christopher Dickey |June 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
One theory revolves around 9/11 and the buildup to the first Iraq War.

Skewed |Joe Concha |May 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Chatterjee and his team found that D-PDMP almost totally eliminated the buildup of cholesterol in vital regions of the body.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Come Closer to Eliminating Heart Disease |Dale Eisinger |April 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Of course it was another piece of callow whistling in the dark, but it was a buildup, too.

The Planet Strappers |Raymond Zinke Gallun
But information about the precise results of their ordinary use and their buildup in nature accumulates very slowly.

The Nation's River |United States Department of the Interior