to buff up
1
5.8
- phrasal verb
- /bʌf ʌp/
- Informal
:
mejorar
- The team aimed to buff up their presentation to impress the investors.
Examples
-
The artist worked hard to buff up the colors in her painting before the exhibition.
-
But it's really hard to beat a good liquid fertilizer for those quick results and to buff up those crops, like my biceps are buffing up lifting this up here.
-
Gotta buff up a little bit.
-
He's trying to buff up for his honey, right?
-
And then he also has this rune Lord that can help buff up his entire frontline.
-
I spend half my waking time working to buff up the bod so someone else can enjoy it, and this is what I come home to?
Fiction book (1998) -
So I take each extension and I'm just going to kind of scratch up and buff up the inside where it's going to be attached to my nail.
-
Doctor, l'd love to chat-- tea, cake, the whole shebang-- but l have a ship to launch... and you've got your outfit to buff up.
-
She decided to buff up her resume to attract more job offers.
Synonyms
424
4.0
Make something better or more attractive
93
4.0
Make something better by making a few small changes
85
3.9
To make something better by adding knowledge or nutrients
56
3.4
Make something look nicer or more attractive for a special event
52
5.3
To make something bigger by adding more to it
41
4.9
To change something to make it look or work better
34
4.5
To make something stronger or more effective
26
4.1
To make a place or person look neat and smart
22
4.1
To make something better by small changes
17
4.4
To polish something by rubbing until it is smooth or shiny
13
3.8
To make yourself or a place look cleaner and nicer
10
6.3
To make something more beautiful by adding decorative details
9
3.2
To make a place or person more attractive by adding decorations like paint
8
3.8
Make small changes to something to improve how it looks
8
4.2
To make small changes to the look of hair or a photo
4
3.5
Make something better by practicing or fixing it
4
3.0
Make a room look cleaner and nicer with small changes
3
8.0
To make something look neater and more attractive with small changes
1
7.2
Make a person or place look neater and nicer by cleaning and adding small things
1
2.5
Put paint on something to make it look better
1
5.0
Make something look more attractive, often only on the surface
Make something look more stylish and attractive
To make a reputation or image look better by hiding problems
To put a new surface on something to make it look or work better
To make something old look new by fixing or cleaning it
To make something more attractive by adding new parts
To give help to someone or something to make them stronger
Make digital images bigger or clearer
Make something look more expensive by adding nicer things
Antonyms
How Improved
523
3.4
31
4.6
- Informal
1
5.8
∞
1.0
- Informal
13
3.8
8
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to improve or enhance' is directly derivable from combining 'buff' (to improve/enhance) with the particle 'up' (to raise/increase). This verb+up compositional pattern is productive in English, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would most likely infer the phrasal meaning.
Etymology
The phrase buff up comes from the simple act of rubbing a shoe or a car until it shines — buff — with up showing extra effort, so it came to mean 'to improve' or 'make better'.