perk up

verb

perked up; perking up; perks up

informal

1

: to become more lively or cheerful or to make (someone) more lively or cheerful

We perked up when we heard the good news.

The good news perked everyone up.

2

: to make (something) fresher or more appealing

The new paint job really perked up the room.

3

chiefly US, of an animal's ears : to be lifted in a quick and alert way

The dog's ears perked up.

—often used figuratively of a person

My ears perked up when I heard my name mentioned.

Examples of perk up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Cat starts out as an office drone, who works for a massive company that assigns him clients; his job is to perk up their spirits. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026

Ears perked up in beauty communities across America when the FDA finally approved the first new UV filter in 20 years—and apparently, brands couldn’t wait to introduce bemotrizinol (BEMT) into the market. — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2026

How Korea uses Letybo differently This is where K-beauty devotees will perk up. — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Analysts are perking up about CoreWeave, even though investors are dumping shares and interest rates are rising in the economy. — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for perk up

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