scrub up

English

Verb

scrub up (third-person singular simple present scrubs up, present participle scrubbing up, simple past and past participle scrubbed up)

1. To clean or wash by scrubbing.
2. (UK, informal) To become clean, handsome, smart in appearance, e.g. for a special occasion, especially when it is out of character to be seen as such.

   Synonyms: clean up, dress up

   He scrubs up well.

Further reading

• “scrub up well”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.