brush up

British

verb

to refresh one's knowledge, skill, or memory of (a subject)
to make (a person or oneself) tidy, clean, or neat as after a journey

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

the act or an instance of tidying one's appearance (esp in the phrase wash and brush-up )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

brush up Idioms

Clean, refurbish, as in We plan to get the house brushed up in time for the party . [c. 1600]
Also, brush up on . Review, refresh one's memory, as in Nell brushed up on her Spanish before going to Honduras , or I'm brushing up my knowledge of town history before I speak at the club . [Late 1700s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Biathlon fans brush up your Italian -- but also your German, for the events this Winter Olympics will be in South Tyrol in Italy, an autonomous province bordering Austria and Switzerland.

From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026

This isn’t to say everyone needs to brush up on penmanship and stop using AI calendars.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025

“People want to brush up against one another a bit more now,” said Café Kestral owner Dennis Spina to Eater.

From Salon • Oct. 18, 2025

Time to brush up on the recipes I had learned during COVID.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2025

“You may go to my room to brush up and rest yourself. Mariequita will show you.”

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023