gussy
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of gussy
First recorded in 1935–40; of obscure origin
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.
See Examples For:
And so it was a delightful week of watching the Interior Department scramble to gussy it up again.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
I tend to like to gussy it up a bit.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2024
Dolly Parton is starting an apparel brand for dogs that will let pet owners gussy up their pups just like the legendary country music singer.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 1, 2022
He and Ms. Jacobs got to chatting, and he told her that he wanted to gussy up his place, too, and grow wisteria.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2021
“Let’s try it! We’ll just take Miss St. James’s hairbrush and a perfume bottle or two—something to gussy up Theo’s room and make it look as though a young lady lives there.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
I’ll admit, I snorted the first time I saw a TikTok of teens gussied up in suits to see a Minions movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The performance space is a rehearsal studio that hasn’t been gussied up much, and the performers make full use of it.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2024
From tailgating to hosting a gussied up to-do, jambalaya will have everyone circling back for more.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2024
On the bar food, staples of vermicelli noodles and sandwiches get gussied up with marbled beef and other high end meats.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
I was already picturing Nan’s brace gussied up, though she wasn’t one for sequins—maybe silver studs.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
There are cubicles, roller chairs, a water cooler and flat lighting that the director, Luke Lorentzen, would never dishonor by gussying up with a lamp.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
The real trick to gussying up grocery store blooms?
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2022
Lee sometimes gives the impression of a virtuoso guitarist, needlessly gussying up his act with double-necked axes and pyrotechnics.
From The Verge ● Oct. 8, 2019
Not as long as Grammy and Oscar broadcast producers remain committed to gussying up awards-show performances with unearned profundity by throwing in choirs-for-hire.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2019
Those handling his work have chosen to honor that quality, without gussying it up to make him a cartoon.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 11, 2018
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.
