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to spruce

to spruce

26 4.1
To make a place or person look neat and smart
  • verb
  • /spruːs/
  • Informal
translation icon : arreglar
  • So, we'll have to spruce the place up a bit.

It's kind of it's like sprucing up a corpse at this point with some flowers.

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Examples

  • Yeah, I just want to spruce up the outfit a little bit.

  • what I mean is if you spruce it up a little you get a better price

  • Every year I plan to spruce up the decor, but I never get around to it.

    Blog text (5)
  • I love to choose a few new colors to spruce up my makeup palette.

    Blog text (24)
  • Wednesday we'll rearrange the furniture and spruce up the lawn.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • If you're ready to make a sale, here are some ways to spruce up your autumn yard.

    Blog text (27)
  • "Home Savvy" provides insightful tips and creative solutions for sprucing up and adding color to your home.

    Blog text (9)
  • Stewards were resetting the tables, sprucing the flowers for the evening visitors.

    Academic text (2016)
  • Whenever you've got anything to sell, whether it's a carriage, a steamboat, or an actress, you've got to spruce it up.

  • Before the guests arrive, we need to spruce up the living room to make it look inviting.

Synonyms

to decorate
vsto spruce
226 1.9

To make something look nicer by adding paint, ornaments, or other items

is focused on ornaments and visual decor rather than personal grooming
to dress something up
vsto spruce
56 3.4

Make something look nicer or more attractive for a special event

is usually for special events rather than everyday neat or stylish appearance
to beautify
vsto spruce
9 3.2

To make a place or person more attractive by adding decorations like paint

is broader and can include large aesthetic changes beyond neat styling
to gussy
vsto spruce
  • Informal
8 8.7

Make something or someone look fancier by adding decorations

is decorative and fancier than the simple neat or smart change
to primp
vsto spruce
  • Informal
8 7.2

To get ready by fixing your clothes, hair, or makeup carefully

is similar but typically implies more fuss and possible excessiveness
to do up
vsto spruce
  • UK
7 3.9

Make yourself look attractive by dressing and doing your hair or makeup

is broader and covers many ways to make neat or stylish not just grooming
to pretty up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
6 4.3

Make people and places look nicer by dressing up, adding decorations, or using makeup

is wider and can mean any neat or stylish update not only makeup
to gussy up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
5 8.6

To dress or decorate in a fancy way to look nicer

is less showy and more about neat smart or stylish presentation
to freshen up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
4 3.0

Make a room look cleaner and nicer with small changes

is more about light cleaning or renovation than dressing or grooming
to spiff
vsto spruce
  • Informal
3 8.0

To make something look neater and more attractive with small changes

is focused on overall stylish appearance rather than small fixes
to smarten
vsto spruce
3 3.9

To make someone or something look neater and more attractive

focuses on style and neatness rather than cleaning or hygiene
to spiff up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
1 7.2

Make a person or place look neater and nicer by cleaning and adding small things

is more general about being neat and stylish without stressing tidying
to doll up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
1 7.2

To dress up and make yourself look attractive for a special event

focuses more on general neat or stylish change rather than only dressing
to glam up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
1 6.8

Make yourself or someone more stylish using clothes and makeup

is less about glamour and more about general neat or stylish appearance
to prettify
vsto spruce
1 5.0

Make something look more attractive, often only on the surface

is more shallow or decorative than the key's general neat or stylish aim
to smarten up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
1 4.8

Make yourself or a place look neater and more stylish

is broader and focuses on general neat and smart improvement
to titivate
vsto spruce
9.3

To make a place or yourself neat and look nicer

is the same in meaning but is the more familiar usage
to tittivate
vsto spruce
9.9

To make something or yourself look neat and attractive

is the same sense but often appears as an alternative variant
to slick up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
6.8

Make a person look neat and more attractive by dressing and grooming them carefully

is similar but does not always imply careful dressing or grooming
to fig up
vsto spruce
  • UK
9.9

To put on fancy clothes to look good

is narrower and focuses only on clothing rather than overall neatness
to prim up
vsto spruce
7.6

To dress neatly and formally for an event

is more about plain formality rather than general stylishness or flair
to prink
vsto spruce
  • Archaic
9.9

To dress carefully to look fancy

is like the key but leans more toward showy or fussy elegance
to fancify
vsto spruce
  • Informal
7.7

Make something look more attractive by adding decorations

is more about ornament and show than plain neat styling
to fancy up
vsto spruce
  • Informal
6.5

Make something look more stylish and attractive

is narrower in adding extra style rather than simple neatness

Antonyms

2 8.1

To make someone's hair or clothes look untidy

Phrasal Verbs

to spruce up
  • Informal
13 3.8

To make yourself or a place look cleaner and nicer

Compounds

1 6.1

A small evergreen tree with short needles that grows in cold, wet bogs

A tall evergreen tree with dark green needles and hanging cones

1 7.4

A large evergreen tree from the northwest coast of North America with sharp needles and light strong wood

1 5.6

A medium-sized evergreen tree with short blue-green needles and thin cones that grows in cold places

big-cone spruce
  • Specialized
8.0

A tree from California with very large cones four to eight inches long

A medium-sized spruce tree with hanging branches that grows in California and Oregon

A tall evergreen tree with blue-green needles and lower branches that sweep downward

A tall tree with blue-green needles and a cone-shaped form often used in gardens

A tall evergreen tree from northwestern North America with short needles and egg-shaped cones

A medium-sized evergreen tree from eastern North America that people use for wood and paper

A tall spruce tree with blue-green needles that grows in high mountain forests

A tall evergreen tree with blue-green needles that grows in the Rocky Mountains and British Columbia

4.6

A medium-sized tree with needles whose wood is used for building and paper

oriental spruce
  • Specialized
7.4

A tall evergreen tree with dark green needles and drooping branches often grown in gardens

A tall evergreen tree from northern Europe and Asia with long needles that survives very cold winters

A tall evergreen tree with blue-green needles and lower branches that sweep down as it ages

spruce bark beetle
  • Specialized
8.0

A small insect that makes holes in the bark of spruce trees and often kills them

8.9

A fermented drink made with sugar and the sap of spruce trees

spruce pine
  • Specialized
8.8

A small shrubby evergreen with two needles per group and scaly square bark

spruce pine
  • Specialized
8.2

A small evergreen tree that grows in wet bogs with dense branches and poor wood

spruce gall aphid
  • Specialized
9.9

A small insect that makes pineapple-shaped growths on young spruce branches

spruce grouse
  • Specialized
8.9

A forest bird that lives in pine and fir woods and eats evergreen needles

spruce pine
  • Specialized
7.9

A tall evergreen tree with two needles per group and light soft wood used for pulp

A small animal with a bushy tail that lives in northern forests and eats spruce cones

A medium-sized spruce tree with long hanging branches from California and Oregon

5.4

A medium-sized evergreen tree from eastern North America that people use for lumber and paper

How Neat

to tidy
42 1.0
to spruce
  • Informal
26 4.1
to smarten up
  • Informal
1 4.8
to dress up
178 2.7

Surface Forms

spruce infinitive
spruced past
spruced past participle
sprucing present participle
spruces third person singular

Etymology

Spruce (to make neat) comes from an older use of spruce meaning items 'from Prussia' and later 'smart' for fine clothes, so to 'spruce up' is to make someone or something look smart and tidy. A helpful way to remember it is to think of cleaning or dressing to look well put together.