do up
Britishverb
-
to wrap and make into a bundle
to do up a parcel
-
to cause the downfall of (a person)
-
to beautify or adorn
-
(also intr) to fasten or be fastened
this skirt does up at the back
-
informal to renovate or redecorate
-
slang to assault
-
Fasten up or put up; also, dress up. For example, Let's do up all the gifts in matching paper , or Please help me do up the collar button , or Jane did up her hair for the dance , or The children were all done up in their best outfits . [c. 1800]
-
. Do something thoroughly or very well, as in They really did it up brown for the dinner party . The allusion here is unclear, but it may be to wrapping a package in brown paper. [Mid-1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"She used money to open Sanctuary Gym, do up her business partner's house, buy gifts and make other purchases along the way. All of this, she appeared to keep secret from Elizabeth Murphy."
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
“We’re feeling good about what we have to do up there tonight to keep that site secure.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2025
As they say, Blinken is on a high wire right now—and he’s got a lot of balancing to do up there.
From Slate • Oct. 27, 2023
“Some of the things that they do up front with their line movement, stuff like that is pretty good,” he said.
From Washington Times • Dec. 26, 2022
“I don’t care what they do up North,” Marion said.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
