lighten up

verb

lightened up; lightening up; lightens up

intransitive verb

: to take things less seriously

Examples of lighten up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Having said all that: The Chiefs appear to have a nice backstretch of their schedule before the end where things — on paper — seem to lighten up a bit. Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2024 In addition to lightening up and modernizing the decor, the renovation included enclosing the restaurant’s existing open kitchen in the dining room with glass. Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2024 Lily Allen is the latest star ready to lighten up Night and Day, an adaptation of the comedic Virginia Woolf novel. Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024 Our skin texture smoothed out drastically and our scars lightened up. Sophie Dodd, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024 Harry’s planning to lighten up on equities, and increase the portion of his overall portfolio devoted to Treasuries. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 7 May 2024 Funerals have lightened up considerably, and not only in the matter of dress codes. Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024 That may have helped sell the first movie and lighten up some of the heavier elements that director James Wan threw into the mix — well, that and an octopus playing drums. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Dec. 2023 The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 41, typically lighten up their royal schedules during school vacations to be with their kids. Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 18 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lighten up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lighten up was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near lighten up

Cite this Entry

“Lighten up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lighten%20up. Accessed 23 May. 2024.

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