as in to quiet (down)
to stop talking
the schoolboy ordered his mates to belt up about the prank
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Recent Examples of belt up
The evening’s co-main event bout between Raymond Ford and Thomas Mattice also has a belt up for grabs.
—
Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Going back home Sunday looks nice, except for the Lake Effect Snow belt up in New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
—Amanda Castro, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
So getting some of those at-bats under his belt up here will be part of that.
—Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 28 Aug. 2022
Canelo Alvarez of Mexico (57-1-2, 39 KOs) steps back into the ring to try and conquer yet another weight class, this time putting on several pounds for a matchup against current WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol of Russia (19-0, 11 KOs) who is putting his belt up for grabs in this bout.
—oregonlive, 7 May 2022
Designed to attach to a belt up to 2½ inches wide or to a PALS system, the pouch comes very close to duplicating the performance of an OWB holster.
—Mike Dickerson, Outdoor Life, 23 Oct. 2020
Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Going back home Sunday looks nice, except for the Lake Effect Snow belt up in New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
—Amanda Castro, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024
So getting some of those at-bats under his belt up here will be part of that.
—Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 28 Aug. 2022
Canelo Alvarez of Mexico (57-1-2, 39 KOs) steps back into the ring to try and conquer yet another weight class, this time putting on several pounds for a matchup against current WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol of Russia (19-0, 11 KOs) who is putting his belt up for grabs in this bout.
—oregonlive, 7 May 2022
Designed to attach to a belt up to 2½ inches wide or to a PALS system, the pouch comes very close to duplicating the performance of an OWB holster.
—Mike Dickerson, Outdoor Life, 23 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belt up
Verb
-
Stored this way, limes should last for about a month or longer with wrinkling or drying up.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
21 Sep. 2025
-
And yet those pipelines may be drying up.—
Jeffrey Selingo,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But establishing your lead funnyman as someone who just shuts up and stares blankly ahead isn’t a recipe for sustainable comedy.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Sep. 2025
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There is still plenty of time for the Steelers to turn things around and shut up their doubters.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Then, after Austin Jackson sustained his season-ending knee injury in early November in Miami’s loss to the Bills , the Dolphins run game clammed up.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
29 July 2025
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Although that doesn’t account for those opposite behaviors (e.g., clamming up).—
Caleb Harris,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Verb
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McIlroy would hush the USA crowd after putts, while Reed would bow to their applause.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
24 Sep. 2025
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Robert Kraft — sandwiched in between Travis Scott and his fellow REFORM Alliance Board Member Michael Rubin — shared hushed conversations with both.—
Mackenzie Cummings-Grady,
Billboard,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Belt up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belt%20up. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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