to do up
7
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /duː ʌp/
- UK
:
arreglarse
- Her hair is done up in a businesslike style; she wears a jacket and carries a briefcase.
- do up your hair
- do up in a dress
They're putting it on and then doing up at the back and then clasping it at the front to give like some extra, you know, like squish them together.
- They're putting it on and then doing up at the back and then clasping it at the front to give like some extra, you know, like squish them together.
- Yeah, I'll do up here because if there's hair like here, I don't want that.
- The other day, Lacey gotten done up to the podcast and I didn't because I'm a schlub.
Examples
-
Then you won't mind doing up my dress.
-
Got your hair done up.
Blog text (16) -
Her hair was done up.
Fiction book (1992) -
It just helps to do up the skin a little bit.
-
Stepping around a wheelchair, Sayer finds an elderly woman in it, nicely dressed, her hair done up, with a ribbon in it.
Fiction book (1990) -
Her hair, now tightly done up with pins, came closest of all his children's to matching the rich yellow that had been her mother's.
Fiction book (1992) -
A pretty thing she was, too, her red hair done up in tortoise-shell combs, her hazel eyes wide and gazing raptly up at him.
Fiction book (1992) -
Master Giles tossed aside his blankets, did up his hose, and pulled on a woolen smock over his tunic.
Fiction book (2000) -
When Addison Harvey, flushed and concerned, walked in and found himself facing the old lady, done up like a Japanese geisha and waiting for him enthroned in a high-backed chair, all they could do was stare at each other and gasp.
Fiction book (1995) -
She always takes her time to do up her makeup before going out.
Synonyms
178
2.7
Put on special clothes for an event or to look attractive
86
2.0
To wash and make yourself look neat
79
2.6
Put makeup on your face to change how you look
26
4.1
To make a place or person look neat and smart
13
3.8
To make yourself or a place look cleaner and nicer
8
3.8
Make small changes to something to improve how it looks
8
7.2
To get ready by fixing your clothes, hair, or makeup carefully
6
4.3
Make people and places look nicer by dressing up, adding decorations, or using makeup
5
8.6
To dress or decorate in a fancy way to look nicer
4
3.7
To dress in special clothes to look different or attractive
1
7.2
To dress up and make yourself look attractive for a special event
1
6.8
Make yourself or someone more stylish using clothes and makeup
1
7.2
Make a person or place look neater and nicer by cleaning and adding small things
1
8.9
To make something or someone look bright and showy to attract attention
1
4.8
Make yourself or a place look neater and more stylish
To dress neatly and formally for an event
To make a person or thing look fancy, often in a showy way
To make something or yourself look neat and attractive
Make a person look neat and more attractive by dressing and grooming them carefully
To put on special clothes to look attractive for an event
To put on special clothes to look nice for an event
To put on fancy clothes to look good
Make something look more stylish and attractive
To make someone or something look fancier to impress people
Antonyms
How Attractive
1
7.0
178
2.7
- UK
7
3.9
- Informal
13
3.8
- Informal
32
1.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
There is a clear compositional clue: 'do' (make/perform) plus 'up' (to a higher or completed state) suggests making something more finished or improved, so a B1 learner could infer it relates to altering appearance. However, the specific conventionalized sense 'make oneself look attractive/neat' is a phrasal-verb meaning that is somewhat metaphorical and overlaps with other senses of do up (e.g., fasten, renovate), so the exact interpretation is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrasal verb do up comes from the everyday scene of getting ready: you button your shirt, fix your hair and do yourself up before going out. So, do up now means 'to make yourself look attractive or neat'.