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
  • Well, the next show is coming up on Saturday, July 25 at Den Studios in Los Angeles.
    — Jim Ryan, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Sulej and his colleague Wojciech Pawlak from the Faculty of Geology at the Warsaw University are credited with discovering the skeleton in southern Poland in 2023 and coming up with the idea to invite volunteers to help with its restoration.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 July 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
  • Garnacho had joined a small list of potential recruits, which included Paris Saint-Germain’s Ibrahim Mbaye and Crysencio Summerville from West Ham United, who is now closing in on a move to Al Hilal.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 22 July 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
  • With the 30th anniversary of Cinderella fast approaching, Houston’s greatest heartbreak may have a chance to be mended.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
  • Salgado is accused of approaching the man, taunting him to start a fight and punching him in the face, police said.
    — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026
Definition of approaching
Verb
  • Labor and delivery units are closing across the country at an average of more than two per month, while the United States holds the grim distinction of the highest maternal mortality rate among all high-income nations.
    — Mara Evans, STAT, 27 July 2026
  • Silver Creek is closing despite being the only organic grocery serving an affluent area of the city.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 27 July 2026
Definition of closing
Verb
  • But Morningstar analyst Jing Jie Yu cautions in a July report that the Chinese company might not attract many customers abroad, with demand still coming mostly from home markets.
    — Yue Wang, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • The fear is that those chains will keep coming, and eventually drown out places like Humaideh’s.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 27 July 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 2 Aug. 2026.

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