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
The bullying sense of superiority is unmistakable, even when he tries to gussy it up in a mantle of freedom.
From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
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
Phil Spector gets production credit after the Beatles rejected the Johns cut, a glorious mess that reflected the sessions, and handed it to the Wall of Sound creator to gussy up with strings and delay.
From Washington Post ● 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
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
They were all gussied up for Gun Prom, an annual fundraiser that draws hundreds of firearm enthusiasts from across Southern California to talk, auction and celebrate guns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
The game doesn’t need to be gussied up and marketed to an audience defiant about its ambivalence.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 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
I feel as though I’ve spent much of my summer taking shots at “Obsession” gussying up its thin characterizations to fool people into thinking it’s anything more than your standard horror sludge.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
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
And he did it without gussying up his points or banging you over the head with them.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2018
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
