verb
1. make neat, smart, or trim
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Spruce up your house for Spring
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titivate the child
• Derivationally related forms: ↑tittivation (for: ↑tittivate), ↑titivation (for: ↑titivate)
• Verb Frames:
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Somebody ——s something
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Something ——s somebody
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Something ——s something
2. dress and groom with particular care, as for a special occasion
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He spruced up for the party
• Syn: ↑spruce, ↑slick up, ↑smarten up
• Verb Frames:
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Somebody ——s
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Somebody ——s somebody
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[verb]
smarten up, tidy, titivate
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ˌspruce ˈup [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they spruce up he/she/it spruces up present participle sprucing up past tense spruced up past participle spruced up] phrasal verb
to improve the appearance of someone or something
The town hall has been spruced up for the occasion.
Thesaurus: to make someone or something more attractivesynonym
Main entry: spruce
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spruce up [phrasal verb]
spruce (someone or something) up or spruce up (someone or something) : to make (someone or something) look cleaner, neater, or more attractive
We spruced up the room with a fresh coat of paint.
• • •
Main Entry: ↑spruce
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ˌspruce ˈup | ˌspruce sb/sth/yourselfˈup derived
to make sb/sth/yourself clean and neat
•
She spruced up for the interview.
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The city is sprucing up its museums and galleries.
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I spruced myself up before I went out.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.