spruce (up)

verb

ˈsprüs How to pronounce spruce (up) (audio)
Definition of spruce (up)next
as in to trim
to make neat hurriedly sprucing up the hotel dining room before the breakfast crowd began showing up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spruce (up)
  1. trim
  2. organize
  3. arrange
Verb
  • Though consumers are advised to eat smaller fish or to trim away belly fat and dark meat to remove contaminants, blue catfish is increasingly popular table fare.
    — Tovar Cerulli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Edmunds recommends avoiding the base SE Standard Range trim because of its EPA range estimate of just 220 miles.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of trim
Verb
  • Ebola is changing how African governments organize their response, Kaseya said, with Nigeria’s case prompting stronger solidarity across the continent.
    — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The concierge can also organize hydroplane trips across Lake Como, a private dinner behind closed doors beneath Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, and a day of personal shopping in Italy’s fashion capital.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of organize
Verb
  • The hotel can also arrange more typical Lanai tourist activities—scuba diving, sailing, horseback riding, or a day at the beach at the sister Four Seasons resort.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Lawyers in Russia eventually located him and arranged for legal visits, money for food and basic necessities, and the brief phone call with his son.
    — Olivia Gazis, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of arrange
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

spruces (up)
spruce (up)
sprucing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spruce (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spruce%20%28up%29. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All