1 C1 neutral
To move physically close to a person or object, making slight incidental contact.
"She brushed up to him as she passed through the crowded hallway."
brush up to
C1 neutral intransitive
To move close to someone or something, lightly touching or almost touching them as you pass or stand near.
In plain English
To move really close to someone, almost touching them.
What does "brush up to" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic informal
To approach someone closely in a deliberate, sometimes flirtatious or presumptuous way.
"The stranger brushed up to me at the bar and whispered something I couldn't hear."
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To brush (lightly touch) upward or alongside something, moving physically close to it.
Actually means
To move really close to someone, almost touching them.
Usage tip
Relatively uncommon; often used to describe deliberate but casual closeness to a person, sometimes with a flirtatious or stealthy connotation.
Words that pair with "brush up to"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
someone wall stranger crowd arm
How to conjugate "brush up to"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
brush up to
I/you/we/they
3rd person
brushes up to
he/she/it
Past simple
brushed up to
yesterday
Past participle
brushed up to
have + pp
-ing form
brushing up to
continuous
Hear "brush up to" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "brush up to" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Other ways to say "brush up to"
Swap in when you want variety — tap a linked one to explore it.
edge up to inch toward move close to press against sidle up to
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