Skip to content
ReadingWillow structured literacy program for Australian students
Dictionary

— Stephen Crane

I stood upon a high place,

And saw, below, many devils

Running, leaping,

And carousing in sin.

…

Read full poem →

adjective

Engaged in or ready for action; characterized by energetic work, thought, or speech.

“The students were very active in class discussions, asking many thoughtful questions.”

Know more →
Back To Dictionary

Dictionary Entry

shape up

Part of Speech: verb

To improve; to correct one's bad habits or behavior.

In a Sentence

“He'd better shape up soon, or he'll fail the class.”

Origin

Origin details are still being enriched for this entry.

Common Phrases

Still being gathered for this entry.

Missing dictionary details are being fetched in the background.

Synonyms

improvepull one's finger outpull one's socks upbecometurn intoturn out

Antonyms

No antonyms yet.

Related Words

come onadvanceprogressget alongcome alongget onclean up one's actreform

Poetry examples for “shape up”

Excerpts from the ReadingWillow English Library collection.

Poetry examples are still being gathered for this entry. They will appear here once matching poems are available in the library.