to fig up
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
arreglarse
- She decided to fig up for the gala, wearing a shimmering evening gown.
Examples
-
They all figged up before heading out to the fancy restaurant.
-
I need to fig up before the event!
-
He rarely bothers to fig up, even for important meetings.
-
She decided to fig up for the party.
-
She decided to fig up for the gala, wearing a shimmering evening gown.
-
I need to fig up before the event to impress everyone.
-
They all figged up before heading out to the fancy restaurant to celebrate.
Synonyms
178
2.7
Put on special clothes for an event or to look attractive
38
4.0
Put on formal clothes or a uniform for an event
26
4.1
To make a place or person look neat and smart
22
7.6
To dress someone or something in a fancy way
15
4.1
To make a person or a room look special with clothes and decorations
8
8.7
Make something or someone look fancier by adding decorations
8
7.2
To get ready by fixing your clothes, hair, or makeup carefully
7
3.9
Make yourself look attractive by dressing and doing your hair or makeup
7
4.6
To put on special clothes to look nice or impressive
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
2
6.7
Seem very attractive and stylish
1
7.4
To make something like a car or outfit look very fancy by adding bright decorations
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
To dress in special clothes to look attractive
To put on special clothes to look nice for an event
To make someone or something look fancier to impress people
To dress in nice clothes for a special event
To put on special clothes to look attractive for an event
To put clothes on someone, often in a special way for warmth
Dress yourself or others in fancy clothes to look impressive
To make a person or thing look fancy, often in a showy way
To make someone or something look stylish and attractive with makeup and clothes
To dress carefully to look fancy
Make something look more stylish and attractive
Make a person look neat and more attractive by dressing and grooming them carefully
To dress someone or make them act in a showy, fashionable way
Antonyms
How Fancy
- Informal
1
6.8
178
2.7
- UK
- Informal
13
3.8
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
fig + up
The core verb 'fig' is not a recognized lexical item with a clear meaning, so knowing 'up' (which can signal putting on or intensifying) does not allow a learner to derive 'to dress in fancy clothes.' There is no transparent compositional link or widespread cross‑linguistic pattern that would make this meaning predictable, so the expression is non‑compositional for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrasal verb fig up may come from a simple image: people used a fig leaf to cover and decorate the body, adding a small piece to look nicer. So to fig up came to mean putting on something to look better, which is why today it means 'to put on special or fancy clothes to look attractive'.