brush up on meaning and examples thumbnail

brush up on meaning and examples

2025-09-12

Meaning

"Brush up on" means to improve or refresh your knowledge or skill in something that you have already learned but may have become rusty in.

It suggests practicing or revising to regain confidence or competence.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Phrasal verb
  • Structure: brush up on + noun
  • Transitivity: Transitive (it takes an object)

Typical usage:

  • "brush up on + subject/skill" (e.g., brush up on my Spanish)
  • Used when preparing for an exam, interview, trip, or professional task.

Common Phrases

  • brush up on my English
  • brush up on computer skills
  • brush up on grammar rules
  • brush up on presentation techniques

Collocations

  • Verb + brush up on: need to brush up on, want to brush up on, try to brush up on
  • Noun + brush up on: brush up on knowledge, brush up on skills
  • Adverb + brush up on: quickly brush up on, really brush up on

Examples

  1. I need to brush up on my driving skills before the test.
  2. She brushed up on her French before traveling to Paris.
  3. He’s brushing up on history for his university entrance exam.
  4. They brushed up on presentation techniques before the big meeting.
  5. I should brush up on Excel functions to handle this project better.
  6. We brushed up on first-aid skills before going camping.
  7. She brushed up on the company’s policies before the job interview.
  • review
  • refresh
  • revise (mainly UK English)
  • practice
  • go over

Antonym

  • neglect
  • forget
  • ignore