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do up. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
do up, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
do up in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
do up you have here. The definition of the word
do up will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
do up, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Verb
do up (third-person singular simple present does up, present participle doing up, simple past did up, past participle done up)
- (transitive, idiomatic) To fasten (a piece of clothing, etc.); to tighten (a nut etc.)
- I can't do up my shirt. The button is missing.
- Help me do up this zipper.
- You hold it in place while I do up the nut.
- (transitive, idiomatic, colloquial) To redecorate (a room, etc.); to make improvements to (a home or domestic property).
- I'm going to do up the living room next.
- They've done up the house so that they can sell it more easily.
1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:If I had been asked what was the rent of the house, I should have said, at the most, not more than twenty pounds, — because, between you and me, it wants a good bit of doing up, and is hardly fit to live in as it stands.
- (transitive, idiomatic, informal) To execute a task or performance.
- This time I'm going to do it up right.
- (transitive, idiomatic) To pack together and envelop; to pack up.
- I did up the parcel with string and took it to the post office.
- (transitive, dated) To accomplish thoroughly.
- (transitive, archaic) To starch and iron.
1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 20, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:a rich gown of velvet, and a ruff done up with the famous yellow starch
- (slang) To beat up; to physically assault.
Usage notes
The object may appear before or after the particle. If the object is a pronoun, then it must be before the particle.
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of "fasten clothing"): undo
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Anagrams