spruce-up

[ sproos-uhp ]

noun

1. an act of cleaning up, refurbishing, renovating, or the like.

spruce up

verb

1. adverb to make (oneself, a person, or thing) smart and neat

Word History and Origins

Origin of spruce-up¹

Noun use of verb phrase spruce up

Idioms and Phrases

Make neat and trim, as in She spruced up the chairs with new cushions . This idiom originated in the late 1500s as simply spruce but had acquired up by 1676.

Example Sentences

In the 1990s, mayor Richard Riordan raised private millions to spruce up the fusty place to make it fit for official receptions and events.

From Los Angeles Times

The showcase at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, comes after the company disclosed its steepest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the pandemic’s outset, deepening a slump that’s increasing the pressure on the trendsetting company to spruce up its products.

From Seattle Times

Apple on Thursday disclosed its steepest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the pandemic’s outset, deepening a slump that’s increasing the pressure on the trendsetting company to spruce up its products with more artificial intelligence.

From Seattle Times

Just as you use paint to spruce up your walls, light acts as visual paint to not only illuminate your home but increase aesthetics, direct your focus and create the pleasing look you want.

From Seattle Times

After nearly half a century at the house on South Sierra Bonita Avenue in Los Angeles, Ossie Hill wanted to spruce up the two-bedroom home she and her late husband purchased in the early 1970s.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dress up
• fix up
• primp
• tidy