brush up

British  

verb

1. to refresh one's knowledge, skill, or memory of (a subject)

2. to make (a person or oneself) tidy, clean, or neat as after a journey

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noun

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

brush up Idioms  

1. Clean, refurbish, as in We plan to get the house brushed up in time for the party . [c. 1600]

2. 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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brush up

And is he financially literate, or does he need to brush up on the basics, too?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 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

Hoiland and Edwards said they believed that if they could brush up this data, they could predict where geothermal fields are and make exploration less risky.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026

At one burn, Hanson proposed that we make a side trip and wade through the brush up on a steep canyon wall where, he assured me, we would find even more saplings just breaking through.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2025

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

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

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