bellied up

verb

past tense of belly up
as in approached
to come near or nearer belly up to the buffet table and help yourselves

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bellied up Another set of execs and filmmakers wouldn’t have bellied up to this grim, gross anti-hero to round out their first trio of movies meant to reset a massive franchise. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 21 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellied up
  1. approached
  2. closed
  3. closed in
  4. came
  5. drew on
  6. came up
  7. neared
Verb
  • Sowells got off the Gold Line train and approached the two men.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • As this year’s midterms approached, Hinojosa tried to persuade several colleagues to enter the race for governor.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of approached
Verb
  • Keep your fruit bowl covered and balcony doors closed—or risk bartering half a banana for your MacBook.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The Oregon Department of Transportation closed Highway 233 approximately one mile west of Dayton, while authorities restricted access to nearby roads to allow emergency crews to work.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of closed
Verb
  • At this point, polls are closed in more than 80% of the states.
    — Maham Javaid, NPR, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The Gardens at DePugh Nursing Center closed in December after almost 70 years due to skyrocketing costs and stagnant Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
    — Brian Bell, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of closed in
Verb
  • That came just a few days after news broke that Palantir had secured a $10 billion contract from the US Army over the next decade.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
  • All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2025
Definition of came
Verb
  • Another dataset drew on professional wrestling’s tradition of maintaining fictional identities.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026
  • For the work, Harvey drew on ancient jewelry in the Met collection from Greece, India, and China, and then spent time in the Manufacture learning guillochage, a technique for engraving intricate patterns like leaves and flowers onto metal.
    — Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of drew on
Verb
  • Our lead artist, Tom [Lucas], who came up with all the character designs, is a super-talented animator who brings that kind of graphic energy to them.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The Florida Lotto Double Play came up 1, 5, 13, 27, 30 and 35.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of came up
Verb
  • During bargaining that led to the 2022 agreement, the sides didn't engage in extensive back-and-forth on economic proposals until late February, when the possibility of losing regular-season games neared.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
  • DiCamillo said part of that change had to do with the likely voter population becoming more clear as the election neared, and older Latinos appeared to be a larger portion of the electorate.
    — Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of neared

Browse Nearby Words

bellied
bellied up
bellies
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Cite this Entry

“Bellied up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellied%20up. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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