do up

British  

verb

1. to wrap and make into a bundle

   to do up a parcel

2. to cause the downfall of (a person)

3. to beautify or adorn

4. (also intr) to fasten or be fastened

   this skirt does up at the back

5. informal to renovate or redecorate

6. slang to assault

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do up Idioms  

1. Fasten up or put up; also, dress up. For example, Let's do up all the gifts in matching paper , or Please help me do up the collar button , or Jane did up her hair for the dance , or The children were all done up in their best outfits . [c. 1800]

2. . Do something thoroughly or very well, as in They really did it up brown for the dinner party . The allusion here is unclear, but it may be to wrapping a package in brown paper. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

do up

In outline, her plan would work like this: the government gives a council or housing association an average of £80,000 to buy and do up a property.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2025

“I can ask, ‘Can you tell me when I won’t be able to do up the buttons on my shirt or operate a phone?’” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2025

It took a mechanic failing to do up the bolts on a rear brake caliper after qualifying to stop Verstappen winning in Australia two weeks ago.

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2024

As they say, Blinken is on a high wire right now—and he’s got a lot of balancing to do up there.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2023

I do up his nearly bald head and shoulders and then start putting the most complicated, unnecessary, wild highways through him from ear to ear.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini