doll up

British

verb

slang (tr, adverb) to adorn or dress (oneself or another, esp a child) in a stylish or showy manner

"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

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 so she passed the doll up through the crowd until someone flung it onto the stage.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2023

I responded defensively, like the wounded teen I was, and mocked the way he flapped like a rag doll up on that fence.

From Slate • May 24, 2018

They doll up Hollywood's biggest names and use Instagram to show you behind-the-scenes photos of the beautiful and famous.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 17, 2015

Little girls of all ages doll up, wear elegant clothes and become ladies for an evening.

From New York Times • Aug. 16, 2010

I held the crude doll up for the class to inspect.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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