shapeup
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
a gathering of labourers, where employers hire them for day jobs.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
Even with all that prosperity there were bindle stiffs who didn't do so good: so he and the others dropped into a saloon, got a hundred bucks worth of small change, stepped back into the cab, drove over by the shapeup, that's what they said it was, a shapeup, and they threw money to the guys, laughe
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “shapeup” mean?
a gathering of labourers, where employers hire them for day jobs.
Is “shapeup” formal or informal?
shapeup is generally slang.