student asking question

What's the difference between "change" and "change up"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Change [something] up" is a phrasal verb meaning to change something, usually for the purposes of improving it. A similar expression is to "switch [something] up." It is slightly different from the verb "change," which only means to modify or alter something. "Change [something] up" includes an assumption of improvement, and is slightly more informal. Ex: I hate my current hairstyle. I want to change it up. Ex: If you want to change up your look, you can get a haircut or update your wardrobe.

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