spruce up

phrasal verb

spruced up; sprucing up; spruces up

: to make (someone or something) look cleaner, neater, or more attractive

We spruced up the room with a fresh coat of paint.

I need to spruce myself up a bit before we go out to dinner.

Did you know?

titivate, spruce up, smarten up, or spiff up?

Titivate, spruce, smarten, and spiff all mean "to make a person or thing neater or more attractive." Titivate often refers to making small additions or alterations in attire ("titivate the costume with sequins and other accessories"), but it can also be used figuratively (as in "titivating the script for Broadway"). Spruce up is sometimes used for cosmetic changes or renovations that give the appearance of newness ("spruce up the house with new shutters and fresh paint before trying to sell it"). Smarten up and spiff up both mean to improve in appearance often by making more neat or stylish ("the tailor smartened up the suit with minor alterations"; "he needed some time to spiff himself up for the party"). The origins of titivate are uncertain, but it may have been formed from the English words tidy and renovate.

Examples of spruce up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The organizations that currently benefit from the bed tax use the funds to spruce up the very features that attract tourists to visit the region, and to promote the region through national advertising. —David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2025

Around this time, most people feel compelled to spruce up their entire place to usher in the new season. —Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025

Our readers seemed to be keen to spruce up their living spaces as spring cleaning season hits full speed. —Venus Wong, Refinery29, 7 Apr. 2025

Cabins will be spruced up with new soft furnishings and mattresses, while poolside areas and sun decks are getting new furniture and finishes too. —David Nikel, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

Rhymes for spruce up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup