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

Grab this floral blouse or this airy cotton midi dress to spruce up your wardrobe. —Clara McMahon, People.com, 19 Mar. 2025

All these and more ideas to spruce up and declutter your bathroom cabinets, drawers, and vanities below. —Kiana Murden, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2025

One place to start is by sprucing up your exterior with splashes of colors and furniture, highlighting its potential. —Nora Colomer, Fox News, 7 Mar. 2025

Between catching crumbs and banishing muddy footprints, sprucing up your whole house can take hours. —Shea Simmons, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Jan. 2025

Rhymes for spruce up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup