Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

brush up

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.23 in modern English

Syllables: brush up
IPA

14

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To paint, or make clean or bright with a brush.

verb

To review; to improve an existing but rusty or underdeveloped skill.

verb

To beat up, annoy or insult (someone).

Slang; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"April 10, 1706, Alexander Pope, letter to William Wycherley You have commissioned me to paint your shop, and I have done my best to brush you up like your neighbours."
"I'll need to brush up (on) my Greek before my trip to Athens."
"How many will be rich enough to travel in style is difficult to know—but already 30% of the guests at the very expensive Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong are from mainland China. Reception staff around the world had better start brushing up their Mandarin language skills."

Usage

Inflected Forms

brushes up (present, singular) brushing up (participle, present) brushed up (participle, past) brushed up (past)

Synonyms

rub up polish round round off polish up review refresh

Questions

What does brush up mean?: To paint, or make clean or bright with a brush.

How to pronounce brush up

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “brush up”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “brush up”.
Repeat and practice — Say “brush up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.