perk up

verb

1. to make or become more cheerful, hopeful, or lively
2. to rise or cause to rise briskly

   the dog's ears perked up

3. tr to make smarter in appearance

   she perked up her outfit with a bright scarf

4. slang.
   intr to vomit

Word History and Origins

Origin of perk up¹

C14 perk, perhaps from Norman French perquer; see perch ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Restore to good spirits, liveliness, or good appearance, as in You're exhausted, but a cup of tea will perk you up , or The flowers perked up the whole room . [Mid-1600s]

Example Sentences

“If you avoid getting caught, a little affair can perk up a marriage,” says Lucy, a 50-something Californian.

From The Daily Beast

And yet we find your partnerships perk up, while the single among you are being solicited for more than just a vacant tryst.

From The Daily Beast

The senses immediately perk up with the new smells, faint sounds of music and colors meant to belong in nature.

From The Daily Beast

They perk up wonderfully as the barometer falls and the damp makes itself felt in their warm cases of glass.

From Project Gutenberg

After lunch he would always begin to perk up and deny that he had been really drunk the night before.

From Project Gutenberg

In lifting her arms to perk up the bow at her throat she knocked a hat off the bracket.

From Project Gutenberg

But, in this other lot, the shoots are commencin' to perk up, an' insec's have stirred the mold.

From Project Gutenberg

Aunty Rose declared that Carolyn May began at once to perk up.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• brighten
• mend
• take heart