Meanings
verbshine up (third-person singular simple present shines up, present participle shining up, simple past and past participle shined up or shone up)
present singular third person shines up · participle present shining up · participle past shined up · past shined up · participle past shone up · past shone up
- transitiveTo cause to be shiny or more shiny.
- intransitiveTo be friendly in an attempt to impress; to suck up; to be overly solicitous; to attempt to ingratiate oneself.
He wanted to talk to Lute Kimball, but Lute spent his time shining up to Miss Charlotte.
1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, Prairie Kid; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 45
Synonyms & antonyms
verbingratiate oneself to; often with insincere behavior
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
APA
shine up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shine%20up
MLA
“shine up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shine%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shine up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shine%20up.
Source: shine up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.