do up
See also: doup
English
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
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.
- (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.
- Hawthorne
- a rich gown of velvet, and a ruff done up with the famous yellow starch
- Hawthorne
- (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
- (fasten clothing): undo
Derived terms
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