spruce-up

[sproos-uhp]

noun

1. an act of cleaning up, refurbishing, renovating, or the like.

spruce up

verb

1. (adverb) to make (oneself, a person, or thing) smart and neat

Word History and Origins

Origin of spruce up¹

Noun use of verb phrase spruce up

Idioms and Phrases

Make neat and trim, as in She spruced up the chairs with new cushions. This idiom originated in the late 1500s as simply spruce but had acquired up by 1676.

Example Sentences

“It was Cinecittà in the middle of January, and it was absolutely freezing. And then all of a sudden there are too many of you in a small room, and it’s too hot. But there’s so much history there, always the ghost of Fellini. It still needs a little bit of a spruce-up, but it was great.”

From Los Angeles Times

Kirsten Conner, founder of Kirsten Conner Interior Design, agrees that seasonal decorating’s benefits go beyond an external spruce-up.

From Seattle Times

You probably don’t want to put a new coat of paint on your exterior walls in February, but winter is an excellent time for interior painting and giving your rooms a quick spruce-up.

From Seattle Times

One of the benefits of Disneyland getting a major land expansion via Galaxy’s Edge was a spruce-up for the rest of the park, from Sleeping Beauty Castle — now brighter, bolder and more overtly referencing the ink of the original animated work — to a fresh coat of paint and a few new illusions for the Haunted Mansion, a project that was completed during the pandemic.

From Los Angeles Times

In addition to the planned clock tower spruce-up, Joyal said the city had already contributed $5,000 to get the ad hoc planning committee going and another $50,000 to help the committee with other initial expenses, including merchandising and booking and reserving entertainment.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• dress up 
• fix up 
• primp 
• tidy