spruce up
phrasal verb
Did you know?
titivate, spruce up, smarten up, or spiff up?
Titivate, spruce, smarten, and spiff all mean "to make a person or thing neater or more attractive." Titivate often refers to making small additions or alterations in attire ("titivate the costume with sequins and other accessories"), but it can also be used figuratively (as in "titivating the script for Broadway"). Spruce up is sometimes used for cosmetic changes or renovations that give the appearance of newness ("spruce up the house with new shutters and fresh paint before trying to sell it"). Smarten up and spiff up both mean to improve in appearance often by making more neat or stylish ("the tailor smartened up the suit with minor alterations"; "he needed some time to spiff himself up for the party"). The origins of titivate are uncertain, but it may have been formed from the English words tidy and renovate.
Examples of spruce up in a Sentence
Mia Meltzer, Rolling Stone, 21 Dec. 2023
Christmas Tree Skirt Ideas Switch Up Your Throw Pillows and Blankets
Perhaps the simplest way to spruce up your space for the holidays is to refresh your throw pillows and blankets with gingham.
—Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Dec. 2023
This Wooden Knot is ideal for sprucing up bookshelves and countertops.
—Poppy Morgan, Rolling Stone, 10 Nov. 2023
Painting tiles can spruce up your space and extend the life of tiles in high-traffic areas like floors, kitchens, and bathrooms.
—Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Dec. 2023
Longridge has made a number of core capital improvements to spruce up the property, refurbishing the bunkers, installing a new irrigation system and redoing the cart path.
—Mike Dojc, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
This week Chinese communist thug Xi Jinping will enjoy a city that has been spruced up for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
—James Freeman, WSJ, 13 Nov. 2023
The retailer currently has quite a few Cyber Monday 2023 savings in its virtual aisles that'll spruce up your space.
—Anamaria Glavan, Allure, 27 Nov. 2023
This is a redesign of an REI jacket from 1992, spruced up with modern elements.
—Alice Bennett, Travel + Leisure, 13 Oct. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spruce up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near spruce up
Cite this Entry
“Spruce up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spruce%20up. Accessed 9 Jan. 2024.
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