brush up
Britishverb
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to refresh one's knowledge, skill, or memory of (a subject)
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to make (a person or oneself) tidy, clean, or neat as after a journey
noun
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Clean, refurbish, as in We plan to get the house brushed up in time for the party . [c. 1600]
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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.
And is he financially literate, or does he need to brush up on the basics, too?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Modern audiences brush up against directors trying to make 21st-century opera fresh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
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
Time to brush up on the recipes I had learned during COVID.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
Then she reminds me to brush up on more seerah, to be really ready, as there might be an audience for the competition.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
