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ALL meanings of shape up

shape up
S s
  • noun shape up the quality of a distinct object or body in having an external surface or outline of specific form or figure. 1
  • noun shape up this quality as found in some individual object or body form: This lake has a peculiar shape. 1
  • noun shape up something seen in outline, as in silhouette: A vague shape appeared through the mist. 1
  • noun shape up an imaginary form; phantom. 1
  • noun shape up an assumed appearance; guise: an angel in the shape of a woman. 1
  • noun shape up a particular or definite organized form or expression: He could give no shape to his ideas. 1
  • noun shape up proper form; orderly arrangement. 1
  • noun shape up condition or state of repair: The old house was in bad shape. He was sick last year, but is in good shape now. 1
  • noun shape up the collective conditions forming a way of life or mode of existence: What will the shape of the future be? 1
  • noun shape up the figure, physique, or body of a person, especially of a woman: A dancer can keep her shape longer than those of us who have sedentary jobs. 1
  • noun shape up something used to give form, as a mold or a pattern. 1
  • noun shape up Also called section. Building Trades, Metalworking. a flanged metal beam or bar of uniform section, as a channel iron, I-beam, etc. 1
  • noun shape up Nautical. a ball, cone, drum, etc., used as a day signal, singly or in combinations, to designate a vessel at anchor or engaged in some particular operation. 1
  • verb with object shape up to give definite form, shape, organization, or character to; fashion or form. 1
  • verb with object shape up to couch or express in words: to shape a statement. 1
  • verb with object shape up to adjust; adapt: He shaped everything to suit his taste. 1
  • verb with object shape up to direct (one's course, future, etc.). 1
  • verb with object shape up to file the teeth of (a saw) to uniform width after jointing. 1
  • verb with object shape up Animal Behavior, Psychology. to teach (a desired behavior) to a human or other animal by successively rewarding the actions that more and more closely approximate that behavior. 1
  • verb with object shape up Obsolete. to appoint; decree. 1
  • verb without object shape up to come to a desired conclusion or take place in a specified way: If discussions shape properly, the companies will merge. 1
  • idioms shape up take shape, to assume a fixed form; become definite: The house is beginning to take shape. 1
  • intransitivephrasal verbs shape up get fit 1
  • intransitivephrasal verbs shape up improve performance 1
  • intransitivephrasal verbs shape up develop 1
  • phrasal verb shape up If something is shaping up, it is starting to develop or seems likely to happen. 0
  • phrasal verb shape up If you ask how someone or something is shaping up, you want to know how well they are doing in a particular situation or activity. 0
  • phrasal verb shape up If you tell someone to shape up, you are telling them to start behaving in a sensible and responsible way. 0
  • verb shape up to proceed or develop satisfactorily 0
  • verb shape up to develop a definite or proper form 0
  • noun shape up (formerly) a method of hiring dockers for a day or shift by having a union hiring boss select them from a gathering of applicants 0
  • noun shape up a gathering of workers waiting to be hired for the day 0
  • noun shape up the act of shaping up 0
  • noun shape up to develop to a definite form, condition, etc. 0
  • noun shape up to develop satisfactorily or favorably 0
  • noun shape up to do what is expected of one; behave as required 0
  • noun shape up a method of selecting a daily work crew, as of longshoremen, from an assembled group of those available 0
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