tidy-up

IPA/ˌtaɪ.diˈʌp/
IPA/ˌtaɪ.diˈʌp/

tidy-up — noun

1. a short period of putting a room, area, or group of things back into order so it

1.nounB1
Definition

a short period of putting a room, area, or group of things back into order so it looks neat again

Example

Sirin gave the studio a quick tidy-up before the first clients arrived.

collocation: give + place + a quick tidy-up

Gabriel spent Saturday on a full tidy-up of the shed behind the house.

Common collocations
  • a quick tidy-up
  • a full tidy-up
  • do a tidy-up
  • give the room a tidy-up
  • tidy-up of the files
Synonyms
  • cleanup

    more common in American English and can suggest removing dirt rather than arranging things

  • clear-up

    common in British English, often focused on dealing with a mess after an event

  • straightening

    emphasises making things look neat, not dealing with every final detail

Usage Note

Usually follows verbs such as 'do', 'have', or 'give' and is often followed by 'of' plus the place or things being put back in order. It commonly suggests a short practical clean rather than deep cleaning or repair.

Common Mistakes

We tidy-upped the office before lunch.
We did a tidy-up of the office before lunch.
'tidy-up' is a noun here, so use it after a verb like 'do' rather than as the main verb.

tidy-up — phrasal verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: phrasal verb/1

Tidy up, clean up, straighten up, and sort out can all describe improving the state of a place or set of things, but they focus on different results. Tidy up stresses putting things back in order so the whole situation looks finished and controlled. Clean up focuses more on removing dirt, waste, or visible mess. Straighten up is more informal and usually means making a room look neat quickly, often without dealing with every detail. Sort out is broader: it can mean organising papers or objects, but it can also mean solving a confusing problem. If you put toys back in boxes before guests arrive, you tidy up; if you wash sticky plates and wipe the table, you clean up.

tidy up ↗clean upstraighten up ↗sort out ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Tidy-up combines tidy with the particle up. Tidy goes back to an Old English word linked to a fitting or proper time, and later developed the idea of neat order. Adding up gives the verb a sense of bringing something to completion, and the hyphenated noun grew from that phrasal verb to mean a short session of putting things back into order.