as in to close
to come near or nearer
belly up to the buffet table and help yourselves
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of belly up
Knott’s Scary Farm visitors who belly up to the bar at the Calico Saloon can shout requests to a ghost pianist who plays everything from Ragtime masterpieces to summery pop hits by Katy Perry during the annual Halloween seasonal event.
—
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
The hilarious clip, shared on Monday under the username @caragamblee, shows the pup sleeping on the bed with his belly up and his paws stretched out, all while resting his head on the pillow.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
The river boils and bucks beneath us, and the raft’s left side smashes belly up against a rocky outcropping.
—Chloe Berge, AFAR Media, 15 Oct. 2025
In 1998, hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management was bailed out after its highly leveraged bets on bond arbitrage went belly up after the Russian debt default.
—Alex Pron, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Marczyk Fine Foods was slated to occupy a space in the Origin Hotel, but that plan went belly up in 2019.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 18 Aug. 2025
Now, belly up to USA TODAY's Bars of the Year with Mackensy Lunsford.
—Laura L. Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 30 July 2025
Imagery of the aftermath showed vehicles submerged, some belly up.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 13 June 2025
Alvin Velazquez, an associate law professor at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law, said bankruptcy law is typically skeptical of anything that happens during the roughly 3-month period before a business goes belly up.
—Alexandria Burris, IndyStar, 28 May 2025
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
The hilarious clip, shared on Monday under the username @caragamblee, shows the pup sleeping on the bed with his belly up and his paws stretched out, all while resting his head on the pillow.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
The river boils and bucks beneath us, and the raft’s left side smashes belly up against a rocky outcropping.
—Chloe Berge, AFAR Media, 15 Oct. 2025
In 1998, hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management was bailed out after its highly leveraged bets on bond arbitrage went belly up after the Russian debt default.
—Alex Pron, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Marczyk Fine Foods was slated to occupy a space in the Origin Hotel, but that plan went belly up in 2019.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 18 Aug. 2025
Now, belly up to USA TODAY's Bars of the Year with Mackensy Lunsford.
—Laura L. Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 30 July 2025
Imagery of the aftermath showed vehicles submerged, some belly up.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 13 June 2025
Alvin Velazquez, an associate law professor at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law, said bankruptcy law is typically skeptical of anything that happens during the roughly 3-month period before a business goes belly up.
—Alexandria Burris, IndyStar, 28 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belly up
Verb
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Top news OpenAI taps AWS Amazon shares closed at a record high Monday after OpenAI agreed to buy $38 billion worth of AWS capacity in a fresh sign that the ChatGPT developer is no longer dependent on Microsoft.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
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On the way out, as a staffer closed down the merch stand and the lobby bars’ slushy machines quietly hummed, Donegan brought up the lyric about caviar dreams.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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More than 735,000 people were evacuated in Cuba as Melissa approached, according to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, while in the Bahamas, preliminary estimates show 1,485 residents were evacuated before all flights were suspended ahead of the approaching storm.—
Mitchell McCluskey,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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Sanchez, who was in Indianapolis for a Fox Sports appearance, was caught on video approaching the driver’s door of a large truck by a nearby hotel, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by EW.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The production draws on a long history of curiosity amusements in which people looked to be entertained by viewing others with unusual or non-normative bodies, especially in nineteenth-century Western circus and dime museums.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
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Biles was joined by actress Emma Roberts, who drew on high-fashion runway inspiration for her attire at the event.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Chelsea shared on Instagram that Maximus spent eight days in the hospital before being able to come home.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
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With that immense wealth comes a responsibility to give back to Louisville and the world, several members of the family told the Courier Journal.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As the Dodgers neared a return trip to the Fall Classic, Dave Roberts conceded that just trying to get back there took its toll.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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The suspension of government data because of the government shutdown, which is nearing the longest on record, has made the Fed’s job of judging the economy even more difficult.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Fall is here, which means the end of this year's daylight saving time is coming up.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
25 Oct. 2025
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Sean Monahan, Voronkov and others came up empty on point-blank opportunities that left them staring into the rafters or yelling at the ice in frustration.—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Belly up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belly%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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