dress up — 3 meanings

One phrase, 3 meanings. Learn them one at a time, then test yourself.

phrasal verb3 meanings

dress up

wear smart or special clothes make something look more attractive exaggerate facts

Meaning 1 · most common

wear smart or special clothes

dress up for sth

To put on clothes that are more formal or nicer than usual, often for a special occasion.

How oftenCommon

LevelB1

Used inSpeech & writing

Examples

You don’t need to dress up for the barbecue; jeans are fine.

A: Are you going to dress up for the party tonight?
B: Yeah, I think I’ll wear my new suit.

Common mistake

Not: Do I need to dress ~~up myself?~~

Say: Do I need to dress up?

'Dress up' is intransitive — no reflexive 'myself'.

More on “wear smart or special clothes”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

In my country, people usually dress up for weddings and other important celebrations.

Tell it apart

Everyone dressed up for the wedding.

wore smart clothes

The kids dressed up as superheroes.

wore costumes

Goes with

dress up (for)

Practice saying this

Next meaning: make something look more attractive

Meaning 2

make something look more attractive

dress sth up

To make something look nicer or more interesting, often by adding decorations or extra details.

How oftenNow and then

LevelB2

Used inSpeech & writing

Examples

She dressed up the salad with some fresh herbs and colorful vegetables.

A: The living room looks amazing! Did you redecorate?
B: Not really, I just dressed it up with some new cushions and plants.

Common mistake

Not: A few plants really dress ~~up it.~~

Say: A few plants really dress it up.

With a pronoun object, put it in the middle — 'dress it up', not 'dress up it'.

More on “make something look more attractive”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

Sometimes, people dress up their CVs to make their experience sound more impressive.

Tell it apart

A scarf can dress up a plain outfit.

make it look nicer

Dress up — it's a formal do.

wear smart clothes

Goes with

dress up + thing

Practice saying this

Next meaning: exaggerate facts

Meaning 3

exaggerate facts

dress up sth sth

To make something, especially information or a situation, seem more impressive, important, or attractive than it really is, often by exaggerating or presenting it in a misleadingly positive way.

How oftenNow and then

LevelC1

Used inSpeech & writing

Examples

The company tried to dress up its financial results to make the quarter look more successful than it actually was.

A: Did you read the report? It sounds like everything is going perfectly.
B: Don't be fooled—they've really dressed up the numbers to hide the problems.

Common mistake

Not: He dressed up the failure ~~like~~ a success.

Say: He dressed up the failure as a success.

Use 'dress up X as Y' — 'as', not 'like'.

More on “exaggerate facts”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

Some politicians tend to dress up their achievements during campaigns, making it difficult for voters to distinguish between genuine progress and exaggerated claims.

Tell it apart

They dressed up the bad results.