Tidy up meaning
Tidy up means to make a place neat by putting things where they belong. It can also mean to make small changes to finish or improve something.
tidy something up
tidy up · tidied · tidying
Please tidy up your room before dinner.
Tidy up meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Make a place neat by putting things where they belong
tidy something up
- Please tidy up your room before dinner.
- Your toys are everywhere. Please tidy them up.
- We tidied up after the party.
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2
Make small changes to finish or improve something
tidy something up
- I need to tidy up my essay before I hand it in.
- She tidied up the report and sent it to her boss.
- Let’s tidy the last few details up tomorrow.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use tidy up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is tidy up separable?
Tidy up can have no object: Let’s tidy up. With an object, it is separable: tidy up the room, tidy the room up, tidy it up.
Tidy up is mostly British. Americans often say clean up or pick up for the same job. The noun is a tidy-up: The garden needs a tidy-up.
Verb tenses for tidy up
| Present | I tidy up · she tidies up |
|---|---|
| Past | tidied up |
| Present perfect | have tidied up |
| -ing form | tidying up |
Common mistakes with tidy up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: My room is a mess. I’ll tidy up it later.
Right: My room is a mess. I’ll tidy it up later.
A pronoun goes between tidy and up.
Wrong: I tidyed up the kitchen.
Right: I tidied up the kitchen.
Change y to i before -ed: tidied.
Wrong: Tidy up after you!
Right: Tidy up after yourself!
After yourself means clean the mess that you made.
Synonyms and opposites of tidy up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- clean upmake a place clean; also used for dirt and spills
- sort outorganise things or solve a problem
- pick upUS; put toys and clothes away
Opposite
- mess upmake a place untidy
- make a messleave things everywhere
Tidy up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1Toys everywhere! Kids, please ___ before bed.
Tidy up means make a place neat.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The past is tidied, and the pronoun goes in the middle.
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3Your teacher says, “Your story is great. Just tidy it up a bit.” What should you do?
Tidy up writing means make small changes to improve it.
Find your level
The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- take upB1start a new hobby or activity
- put upB1fix something to a wall, or raise something higher
- look upA2find information in a dictionary, a book or online
- go upB1become higher, like a price, a number or a temperature
- come upB2be mentioned or talked about
- give upB1stop doing or having something, often a habit
- break upB1end a romantic relationship
Tidy up FAQ
Questions people ask about tidy up.
Tidy up vs clean up: what is the difference?
Tidy up means put things in the right place. Clean up means remove dirt. After a party, you tidy up the chairs and clean up the spilled juice.
Is tidy up British?
Yes, it is much more common in UK English. Americans understand it but often say clean up or straighten up.
What is the past tense of tidy up?
Tidied up. The y changes to i: tidy, tidied, tidying.
Use tidy up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.