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.

Example Sentences

The leading antagonists in “On the Waterfront” are gangsters — members of the shape-up and shakedown racket which has terrorized the eastern seaboard for years — and still does, though in reduced degree.

From Los Angeles Times

There are no chances of note to report, although I can reveal that Ivan Toney has shorn his dreads and is now sporting what I believe the kids call “a shape-up”.

From The Guardian

But it was the only cap I had in my house to cover my lack of a shape-up, my lack of a haircut, with barbershops in the city closed because of the pandemic.

From New York Times

That first day, Kaztauskis walked to the entrance of one of the meatpacking plants, joining a crowd of about two hundred hungry-looking men standing outside for the morning “shape-up.”

From Literature

Gonzalez explained he usually gets a haircut on Thursday or Friday and a shape-up on Monday, but he recently went a week without anything.

From Washington Post

Related Words

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