shape-up

or shape·up

[ sheyp-uhp ]

noun

1. an act or instance of shaping up.
2. a former method of hiring longshoremen in which the applicants appeared daily at the docks and a union hiring boss chose those who would be given work.

shape up

verb

1. informal.
   to proceed or develop satisfactorily
2. informal.
   to develop a definite or proper form

noun

1. (formerly) a method of hiring dockers for a day or shift by having a union hiring boss select them from a gathering of applicants

Word History and Origins

Origin of shape-up¹

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase shape up

Example Sentences

The leading antagonists in “On the Waterfront” are gangsters — members of the shape-up and shakedown racket which has terrorized the eastern seaboard for years — and still does, though in reduced degree.

From Los Angeles Times

There are no chances of note to report, although I can reveal that Ivan Toney has shorn his dreads and is now sporting what I believe the kids call “a shape-up”.

From The Guardian

But it was the only cap I had in my house to cover my lack of a shape-up, my lack of a haircut, with barbershops in the city closed because of the pandemic.

From New York Times

That first day, Kaztauskis walked to the entrance of one of the meatpacking plants, joining a crowd of about two hundred hungry-looking men standing outside for the morning “shape-up.”

From Literature

Gonzalez explained he usually gets a haircut on Thursday or Friday and a shape-up on Monday, but he recently went a week without anything.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• advance
• better
• boost
• correct
• develop
• enhance
• help
• increase
• lift
• progress
• promote
• raise
• recover
• reform
• revamp
• revise
• rise
• upgrade