spruce up

phrasal verb

spruced up; sprucing up; spruces up

: to make (someone or something) look cleaner, neater, or more attractive

We spruced up the room with a fresh coat of paint.

I need to spruce myself up a bit before we go out to dinner.

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The next qualifying event is set for October 6th at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Southern California, where the North Course was recently spruced up with a $20 million redesign courtesy of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. —Mike Dojc, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024

There’s one more themed holographic mirror option for those looking to seasonally spruce up their home. —Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Aug. 2024

The contrasting stripes offer some playful texture that’ll spruce up simpler outfits (like a denim skirt and knee-high boots). —Glamour, 2 Aug. 2024

Shop owners in historic Ellicott City will have the opportunity to spruce up their storefronts, thanks to a $100,000 state grant awarded to Howard County. —Sherry Greenfield, Baltimore Sun, 30 July 2024