1. present participle of psych: to intimidate or unnerve someone psychologically
Usage: informal
2. present participle of psych: to prepare oneself mentally for something challenging
Usage: informal; often used with ‘up’

Examples

• She’s psyching out her opponent before the match.
• The team is psyching themselves up for the championship game.
• Stop psyching me out with those scary stories.
• He spent an hour psyching up for the job interview.
• The competitor was psyching out the other runners at the starting line.
• I’m psyching myself up to ask for a raise.