lighten up

verb

lightened up; lightening up; lightens up

intransitive verb

: to take things less seriously

Examples of lighten up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Traders can eyeball the rising 50-day at $616 for their sign to lighten up. — Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026

While cooler, brighter tones like Alpine blonde hair will always have their place, honey blonde offers a softer, more wearable way to lighten up. — Emma-Jade Stoddart, Glamour, 20 Aug. 2026

The cheesecake filling is rich and dense but it is lightened up by the fresh fruit. — Phoebe Evans, Southern Living, 4 July 2026

Sztybel made it six months on Ukraine before lightening up her offerings with animal news drawings — 150 of them. — Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lighten up

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