# brighten up

CEFR B1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/brighten-up
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

to become happier or to make a place look more cheerful and full of light.

For teachers: to become or make more cheerful, lively, or luminous; can be used intransitively for mood/weather or transitively for physical spaces.

## Examples

- The sun is starting to brighten up the room.
- She bought some colorful flowers to brighten up her new apartment after a long winter.
- The atmosphere in the office began to brighten up significantly once the management announced the unexpected year-end bonuses.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The weather brightened." but "The weather brightened up." — while 'brighten' is a word, 'brighten up' is the standard phrasal verb used for weather and mood improvements.

## Usage notes

- often used with 'weather', 'mood', or 'rooms' as the subject or object.
- Teaching tip: use this to teach the suffix '-en' (bright to brighten) and how adding 'up' adds a sense of completion or improvement to the action.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.