- to dress and make (oneself) up in a provocative way
- to decorate or improve the appearance of: to tart up a bar
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
tart up vb (transitive, adverb) Brit informal
tart1 /tɑrt/USA pronunciation
adj., -er, -est.
tart•ness, n. [uncountable]
tart2 /tɑrt/USA pronunciation n.
v.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- sharp to the taste;
sour or acid:tart apples. - sharp in character, spirit, or expression;
cutting:a tart reply.
tart•ness, n. [uncountable]
tart2 /tɑrt/USA pronunciation n.
- Fooda small, shallow pie without a top crust, filled with fruit, etc: [countable]a blueberry tart.[uncountable]a small piece of tart.
- Slang Terms[countable] a prostitute.
v.
- Slang Terms tart up, to dress up or decorate, esp. in an overly showy manner: [~ + up + object]to tart up a simple old inn.[~ + object + up]Why did they have to tart it up?
tart1 (tärt),USA pronunciation
adj., -er, -est.
tart′ish, adj.
tart′ish•ly, adv.
tart′ly, adv.
tart′ness, n.
tart2 (tärt),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
- sharp to the taste;
sour or acid:tart apples. - sharp in character, spirit, or expression;
cutting;
caustic:a tart remark.
- bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English teart sharp, rough; akin to Dutch tarten to defy, Middle High German traz defiance
tart′ish•ly, adv.
tart′ly, adv.
tart′ness, n.
- 2. barbed, biting.
tart2 (tärt),USA pronunciation n.
- Fooda small pie filled with cooked fruit or other sweetened preparation, usually having no top crust.
- Fooda covered pie containing fruit or the like.
- Slang Termsa prostitute or promiscuous woman.
v.t.
- tart up, [Slang.]to adorn, dress, or decorate, esp. in a flamboyant manner:The old restaurant was tarted up to look like a Viennese café.
- Middle French; compare Medieval Latin tarta
- 1350–1400; 1905–10 for def. 3; Middle English tarte
'tart up' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):