touch-up
noun
an act or instance of touching up.
touch-up
American
[tuhch-uhp]
/ ˈtʌtʃˌʌp /
noun
touch up
British
verb
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to put extra or finishing touches to
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to enhance, renovate, or falsify by putting extra touches to
to touch up a photograph
-
to stimulate or rouse as by a tap or light blow
-
slang to touch or caress (someone), esp to arouse sexual feelings
noun
touch up
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of touch-up
First recorded in 1880–85; noun use of verb phrase touch up
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:
The company had previously used so-called shadow factories for touch-up work on its bestselling 737 and 787 models until it closed down the last of those lines in 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
She tried not to over-process her hair when she had a relaxer, and would sometimes wait six weeks or two months before getting a touch-up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2023
People aspire to capture their essence by wearing their fragrances and makeup, which Rihanna acknowledged by subtly promoting her Fenty cosmetics line mid-performance with an on-camera touch-up.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2023
Also on the list: microfilm preparer, telephone quotation clerk, sack repairer, tube operator, eyeglass frame polisher, touch-up screener for printed circuit boards and stem mounter for lighting fixtures.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 31, 2022
“They should have the area cleared and cleaned up in about five or ten minutes. You better have Rosemary do some touch-up on your hair. It looks a little flat.”
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
I want to touch up everything at all of my properties, so it continues to look like the pictures because your reviews are so important.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
In a behind-the-scenes film shared by Coke, a voice-over discusses the “team of artists” who “work frame-by-frame, often pixel-by-pixel” to touch up and tweak the festive images generated by the AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025
They looked disjointed, error strewn, all too easily penetrated at the back and lacking a killer touch up front - hardly the characteristics of a championship-winning team.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2024
He credited that in part to drills arranged by Kraken assistant coach Jay Leach to touch up certain aspects of his game and build his confidence.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2024
All I have left to do is touch up the trim on the second.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
