buck up

verb

Definition of buck upnext
1
as in to brighten
to become glad or hopeful buck up, kids, it's not so bad as you're making it out to be

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to encourage
to fill with courage or strength of purpose a surprise presidential visit to buck up the troops

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 buck up Signal flares shot into the social media sky are meant to jumpstart conversations with coaches needing to plug holes or buck up slouching fan bases. — Brian Davis, Houston Chronicle, 2 Jan. 2026 While waiting for help, stay bucked up inside your vehicle. — Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 15 Oct. 2025 Defense gonna have to buck up yet again. — Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025 And then, over the course of the six episodes, Julie does encourage him to buck up at a little bit. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for buck up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buck up
  1. brighten
  2. encourage
  3. look up
  4. inspire
  5. glow
  6. bear up
  7. revive
Verb
  • Notes like grapefruit add a sparkling freshness that can brighten a floral composition or provide an intriguing contrast to warmer ingredients.
    — Camila Quimper, Footwear News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • The lightened and brightened interiors showcase wide-plank light oak floors, textured plaster walls, designer lighting, and French doors that open seamlessly to the outdoors.
    — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of brighten
Verb
  • Its Flex Events initiative uses customer communications to encourage temporary reductions in electricity consumption.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The Sagittarius Moon encourages a wider view of daily responsibilities.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of encourage
Verb
  • But every November the Pleiades remind me that naked-eye observing isn't as simple as opening the back door and looking up.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 13 Nov. 2026
  • And yet this solidly lower-middle-class engineer, who dreams of getting out of Queens and being somebody that his family can look up to, lives in the ever-looming shadow of his elder sibling.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of look up
Verb
  • Researchers at Colorado State University have developed flexible robots inspired by elephant trunks that can bend, grip objects, and connect with other machines.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Its latest name is a literary wink to Walt Whitman, who spent three months in New Orleans in 1848, a visit that helped inspire Leaves of Grass.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of inspire
Verb
  • The cloud is heated and glows extremely brightly in visible light, creating the impression of a supernova.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Gaze up at tethered hot air balloons glowing in the night while their pilots light the burners to music and lasers spread colors across the sky in a state-of-the-art show.
    — Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of glow
Verb
  • Scientists at the Beckman Institute have been tracking levels of plastic-softening phthalates in the blood of children since before they were born up until age 11.
    — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • It can also be used as a bench, bearing up to 355 pounds.
    — Caitlyn Martyn may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom., FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Definition of bear up
Verb
  • The split vote to kill the tolls sent shockwaves all the way to Raleigh, putting the entire Charlotte region in state lawmakers’ crosshairs before the highway project was ultimately revived in September.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The name revives the original Little Shop, opened at Raffles Singapore in the 1940s.
    — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of revive

Browse Nearby Words

bucks up
buck up
bucolic
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Cite this Entry

“Buck up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buck%20up. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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