bellying up

verb

present participle of belly up
as in coming up
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 bellying up Once called ''the funniest woman on TV,'' Catherine O'Hara spends much of her time these days bellying up against a snooker table at the Squeeze Club, a Toronto juice bar and pool hall. — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026 Across the river, Le Crocodile at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn brings a stylish, approachable scene for bellying up and indulging in sexy French cuisine. — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2026 Swashbucklers, scoundrels, bandits and buccaneers will soon be bellying up to the bar inside a lively new pirate pub at Walt Disney World that’s already booked solid for the first two months and promises to be a must-have reservation for visitors. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellying up
  1. coming up
  2. drawing on
  3. closing in
  4. approaching
  5. closing
  6. coming
Verb
  • The bill’s sponsors need support from at least seven Democrats, and the chamber’s recess is coming up at the end of the week.
    — Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Consuelos credits his wife with coming up with the majority of the ideas.
    — Amy Amatangelo, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of coming up
Verb
  • Multiple studies using different approaches reached broadly consistent conclusions, illustrating how scientists conducting attribution studies can build confidence in the conclusions by drawing on several independent lines of evidence.
    — Deepti Singh, The Conversation, 24 July 2026
  • Barroca was drawing on a sentiment expressed two decades earlier, when Brazil won the 1994 World Cup.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of drawing on
Verb
  • James was closing in on Gadsden, but Herbert fired a fastball to beat the coverage.
    — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The move follows months of tension over the reopening of the Russian Pavilion, which returned this year after closing in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
    — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 13 July 2026
Definition of closing in
Verb
  • The documentary depicts a scenario involving a large hostile surface vessel formation approaching southeast of China.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2026
  • At one point the man was holding a flashlight approaching the house.
    — Tammy Mutasa, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of approaching
Verb
  • New York — SpaceX reports its first-ever quarterly earnings as a public company after the closing bell Tuesday, giving investors a detailed look at Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and AI company after a rocky start to trading.
    — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Months before closing the accounts, Capital One agreed to pay a $390,000,000 penalty to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for failing to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.
    — Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of closing
Verb
  • Military analysts believe these capabilities will shape the future of air combat over the coming decades.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 3 Aug. 2026
  • In making decisions, teams figure to factor the NCAA's coming appeal of Sweeney's order and whether to risk bringing back players who could then be declared ineligible if her decision is overturned.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of coming

Browse Nearby Words

bellying
bellying up
belly-land
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Cite this Entry

“Bellying up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellying%20up. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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