to shape up
11
4.0
- phrasal verb
- /ʃeɪp ʌp/
- Informal
:
ponerse las pilas (informal)
- She'd tell me to shape up or ship out.
Well, without a doubt, the plastics and the, you know, the global warming and, and all of those things, we, we have actually really have really got to shape up.
- Well, without a doubt, the plastics and the, you know, the global warming and, and all of those things, we, we have actually really have really got to shape up.
- The Ku Klux Klan is, this is an NGO, so we must be aware that civil society has to shape up itself.
Examples
-
Shape up, or there will be consequences.
-
I decided I liked my job, so I started to shape up.
Blog text (24) -
And now, young man, either shape up or ship out.
-
Now it's about time you shape up.
-
Now shape up or get out.
-
You can either tell him to shape up or move out.
Fiction book (1995) -
Instead, they told me that I needed to shape up and try harder.
Blog text (13) -
And you need to shape up, Trey.
-
I can't fault anyone but myself, and finally a Division Commander came along and told me to shape up or get out.
Blog text (24) -
After a few months of poor performance, I decided it was time to shape up and focus on my studies.
Synonyms
3
2.7
To become fit again after not exercising or being unwell
1
3.8
To make muscles firmer and stronger by exercise
Antonyms
How Improved
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination of 'shape' (condition, fitness) and 'up' (indicating increase or improvement) gives a fairly clear sense of improving physical condition, so a B1 learner who knows the parts could infer the physical meaning. However, the extension to improving behavior or performance is more metaphorical and the particle 'up' in phrasal verbs can signal various nuances, so the exact range of meanings is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Shape up may come from the picture of a coach helping someone get into better shape and lifting them up in skill or fitness. That's why when someone is told to shape up, it means 'to improve one's behavior, performance, or fitness'.