gussy up

verb

gus·​sy up ˈgə-sē-ˈəp How to pronounce gussy up (audio)
gussied up; gussying up; gussies up

Examples of gussy up in a Sentence

gone are the days when the high school prom was held in the gym, which had been gussied up for the occasion
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
This luxe velvet Jennifer Behr Velvet Bow Barrette is classic enough to pair with jeans and a white tee, but can easily gussy up a nap dress with a clip of its barrette (no behind-the-head, blind-tying necessary). Angela Trakoshis, Allure, 27 Sep. 2024 Our readers offered their hacks to gussy up a frozen pizza and tips to make it from scratch. Tejal Rao, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024 Took several payments of $350,000—to gussy up China’s image in the West. Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 14 July 2023 For a condiment upgrade, gussy up a bottle of ketchup with tahini. Joe Sevier, Bon Appétit, 14 June 2023 Want to gussy up the denim? Jill Gleeson, Country Living, 23 June 2021 Landscape architecture is often be treated as an afterthought — a way to gussy up the place after a building is done. Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2021 Chip and Joanna Gaines gussy up a boxed cake mix with yogurt, pudding mix and chocolate chips to make a showstopping sweet topped off with a homemade chocolate glaze. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2023 But the teen-witch narrative that the film adopts is hard to gussy up, especially since after Hocus Pocus there was no shortage of such stories, from Halloweentown to Sabrina (and its reboot). Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Sep. 2022

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gussy up was in 1906

Dictionary Entries Near gussy up

Cite this Entry

“Gussy up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gussy%20up. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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