as in to close
to come near or nearer
belly up to the buffet table and help yourselves
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Recent Examples of belly up
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
Sheriff’s office video shows the alligator had bellied up to the bar when deputies arrived.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2025
Indeed, the restaurant strikes me as a perfect choice for solo dining: belly up to the bar for a glass from the strong wine list, which foregrounds small producers, and order something to nibble on, or dive into, or bask in.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 15 June 2025
Sprawled out and his belly up, Chevy stared up at the ceiling.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
Doing so might risk being sued by 401(k) investors in the future if their crypto investment goes belly up, Chao said.
—Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 28 May 2025
George Wendt, who bellied up to the bar to portray the beer-quaffing everyman Norm Peterson for all 11 seasons of the fabled NBC sitcom Cheers, has died.
—Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
But one of the best ways to try the local tipples remains bellying up where they’re made.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2025
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
Sheriff’s office video shows the alligator had bellied up to the bar when deputies arrived.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2025
Indeed, the restaurant strikes me as a perfect choice for solo dining: belly up to the bar for a glass from the strong wine list, which foregrounds small producers, and order something to nibble on, or dive into, or bask in.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 15 June 2025
Sprawled out and his belly up, Chevy stared up at the ceiling.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025
Doing so might risk being sued by 401(k) investors in the future if their crypto investment goes belly up, Chao said.
—Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 28 May 2025
George Wendt, who bellied up to the bar to portray the beer-quaffing everyman Norm Peterson for all 11 seasons of the fabled NBC sitcom Cheers, has died.
—Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
But one of the best ways to try the local tipples remains bellying up where they’re made.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belly up
Verb
-
The Little Golden Gate Bridge is scheduled to close again from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Monday through Thursday, beginning Sept. 2 until further notice, according to the release.—
NWA Democrat-Gazette,
Arkansas Online,
15 Aug. 2025
-
After undergoing its internal process, on August 23, 2023 the Ethics Commission determined that the complaint was ‘not legally sufficient to commence an investigation’ and closed the matter.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Trump clapping as Putin approached, with a grin on his face.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
18 Aug. 2025
-
Palace are working on possible replacements for Eze, who played the full 90 minutes in last week’s Community Shield match against Liverpool, and have approached Leicester City to explore a potential move for Bilal El Khannouss.—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
17 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
As writers like Rawles so deftly demonstrate, reality TV fiction can draw on the most propulsive parts of reality TV—the drama, the intrigue—to highlight what lurks behind the scenes of production, in that murky zone of manipulation and psychological damage.—
Hannah Berman
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
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The Guardian reported earlier this month that Israel's military used Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure to store Palestinians' phone calls, leading the company to authorize a third-party investigation into whether Israel has drawn on the company's technology for surveillance.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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While the total cost of college is nearing or crossing the $100,000 threshold at several institutions across the country, according to data provided by The Princeton Review, tuition is completely free for all students at handful of other colleges and universities in the U.S.—
Jessica Dickler,
CNBC,
17 Aug. 2025
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As summer nears its end and cooler temperatures hint at an arrival, garden lovers in the Bay Area have an ideal window to prepare for a successful fall season.—
Tina Chen,
Mercury News,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The Ryder Cup is a golf tournament between the U.S. and Europe coming up in September in New York.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
25 Aug. 2025
-
The Lombardy club, who finished fourth in Serie B last season and came up via the play-offs, pulled off the surprise result of the Italian top flight’s opening round of fixtures at San Siro, underlining why Pulisic needs reinforcements alongside him in forward areas.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Belly up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belly%20up. Accessed 31 Aug. 2025.
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