tart something ↔ up phrasal verb British English informal ( see also ↑ tart )
1 . to try to make something more attractive by decorating it, often in a way that other people think is cheap or ugly:
We’ll need to tart the place up a bit.
2 . tart yourself up/get tarted up if a woman tarts herself up or gets tarted up, she tries to make herself look attractive by putting on nice clothes, ↑ make-up etc – often used humorously:
She got all tarted up for the party.