perk up
phrasal verbperk up | perk somebody up
- (informal) to become or to make somebody become more cheerful or lively, especially after they have been ill or sad synonym brighten
- He soon perked up when his friends arrived.
- A cup of coffee will perk you up.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
perk up | perk something up
- (informal) to increase, or to make something increase in value, etc.
- Share prices had perked up slightly by close of trading.
perk something up
- (informal) to make something more interesting, more attractive, etc. synonym liven up
- ideas for perking up bland food
- Stencilling is a cheap and easy way to perk up old furniture.