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

Keenan, 24, re-watched parts of season two to brush up on the region’s geopolitics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

“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

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