Do up means to fasten something (buttons, a zip, a coat) or to renovate a house, flat or room. The first meaning is an everyday one: Do up your coat. The second is mainly British and means a major renovation that leaves the place looking much better.
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do up + coat/buttons/zip/laces; do + it/them + up; do up + house/flat/room (UK)
- It's freezing outside, so do up your coat before we leave.
- My dad spent two summers doing up an old cottage near the lake.
- I can't do up these jeans any more; I think they shrank in the wash.
What changed
First versionWe made a repair in our flat last summer.
RevisionWe did up our flat last summer.
A repair means fixing something that's broken: a repair to the roof. It doesn't describe renovating a whole flat. That's do up, so made a repair in was replaced with did up.
For clothes, the opposite of do up is undo: Undo your top button if the collar is too tight. When talking about renovating a home, Americans more often say fix up: They fixed up an old farmhouse. Do up in this sense sounds British.
Your turn
Our new flat was in a terrible state, so we spent the whole summer ___ the kitchen and bathroom.
Show the answer
doing up — The flat was in a terrible state, and the whole summer went on renovating the kitchen and bathroom, so doing up fits. Make up means 'to invent', 'to become friends again' or 'to put on make-up', and it has nothing to do with renovation. It's an easy slip, because do and make are so often confused.
Write about a renovation you've done or are planning. Say which room it is and how long it took or will take.
Last spring we did up our bathroom, and it took almost six weeks because the tiles arrived late.
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