sex up

present singular third person sexes up · participle present sexing up · participle past sexed up · past sexed up

1. slangtransitiveTo take part in sexual acts with.

   I wanna sex you up!

   1 more example

   Make sweet lovin' all night long / Oh, I wanna sex you up / Feels so right it can't be wrong

   1991, “I Wanna Sex You Up”, in Dr. Freeze (lyrics), C.M.B., performed by Color Me Badd

2. slangtransitiveTo arouse somebody sexually.

   Get spanked: it'll sex you up!

   1 more example

   I got my eyes shut / Praying they won't stray / Oh we're not sexed up / That's what makes the difference today

   2003, “Sexed Up”, in Escapology, performed by Robbie Williams

3. slangtransitiveTo make more sexually attractive.

   Enrique Iglesias sexed up his music video to appeal to a younger audience.

   1 more example

   Women in the UK jazz scene face discrimination and sexual harassment according to a new report, from requests to “sex up” their album covers to tokenism, maternal discrimination and scepticism about their musical capabilities.

   2021 February 16, Tina Edwards, “Female UK jazz musicians face sexual harassment and discrimination, says report”, in The Guardian

4. slangtransitiveTo enhance in terms of fashionable appeal.

   How do I sex up my phone?

   1 more example

   What’s clear is that with wealth inequality at near record highs and income inequality predicted to worsen, we can’t afford to leave things as they are. It’s time to “sex up” tax.

   2017 May 9, Faiza Shaheen, “Tax is getting a bad rap – it’s time to sex it up”, in The Guardian

5. slangtransitiveTo sensationalize.

   Last week saw a backlash against tabloid-style “sexing-up” of science reporting.

   2014 March 24, Dean Burnett, “Sexed-up science news - reporting the story gets in the way of a good fact”, in The Guardian

   2 more examples

   BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan today said David Kelly was in no doubt the government had “sexed up” the Iraq intelligence dossier at the heart of the Hutton inquiry.

   2003 August 12, Julia Day, “Kelly ‘said government sexed up Iraq dossier’”, in The Guardian

   Fresh evidence has emerged that Tony Blair's discredited Iraqi arms dossier was “sexed up” on the instructions of Alastair Campbell, his communications chief, to fit with claims from the US administration that were known to be false.

   2010 January 10, Chris Ames, Richard Norton-Taylor, “Alastair Campbell had Iraq dossier changed to fit US claims”, in The Guardian