shape up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some people call it futuristic - but how does the home of the delayed 2020 Paralympics shape-up for disabled people?
From BBC • Aug. 24, 2021
One of the substantial victories of the 1934 Bay Area strike was the replacement of the shape-up system—the informal hustle for day labor work—with a union-operated hiring hall that worked to racially integrate the workforce.
From Salon • Apr. 11, 2019
Gonzalez explained he usually gets a haircut on Thursday or Friday and a shape-up on Monday, but he recently went a week without anything.
From Washington Post • Aug. 27, 2018
He crusaded against the shape-up system of hiring, in which dock workers had to compete daily for jobs, often at the price of illicit payments.
From New York Times • Jun. 26, 2015
"Naw, naw, he can get one. I was just gonna get a shape-up, but I can pass."
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
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From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.