shape-up

Or shape·up

[sheyp-uhp]

noun

1. an act or instance of shaping up.

2. a former method of hiring longshoremen in which the applicants appeared daily at the docks and a union hiring boss chose those who would be given work.

shape up

verb

1. informal,  to proceed or develop satisfactorily

2. informal,  to develop a definite or proper form

noun

1. (formerly) a method of hiring dockers for a day or shift by having a union hiring boss select them from a gathering of applicants

Word History and Origins

Origin of shape up¹

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase shape up

Idioms and Phrases

Turn out, develop; see take shape .

Improve so as to meet a standard, as in The coach told the team that they'd better shape up or they'd be at the bottom of the league . This usage was first recorded in 1938.

shape up or ship out Behave yourself or be forced to leave, as in The new supervisor told Tom he'd have to shape up or ship out . This expression originated in the 1940s, during World War II, as a threat that if one didn't behave in an appropriate military manner one would be sent overseas to a combat zone. After the war it was transferred to other situations calling for improved performance.

Related Words

• advance 
• better 
• boost 
• correct 
• develop 
• enhance 
• help 
• increase 
• lift 
• progress 
• promote 
• raise 
• recover 
• reform 
• revamp 
• revise 
• rise 
• upgrade