from hip hop
glow up
Meaning
- A dramatic improvement in someone’s appearance, confidence, or style, usually over time.
- (verb) To go through that kind of transformation.
“Her glow up between freshman and senior year stunned the whole reunion.”
Where it came from
A play on grow up. Chicago rapper Chief Keef popularized it, and may have coined it, in his 2013 song “Gotta Glo Up One Day,” a nod to his crew, Glo Gang. It spread on social media the same year and never left.