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
  • On overcast afternoons, the sky often brightened as the evening wore on, as if the world were turning in reverse.
    — Holden Frith, TheWeek, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Saturn, meanwhile, continues to brighten in the east during the late evening, making this an increasingly good time to point binoculars or, better still, a small telescope toward the ringed planet.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of brighten
Verb
  • Bunch said that one of his goals in the head role was to encourage Americans to embrace ambiguity and recognize that America is a complicated, multifaceted nation.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The stated purpose would be to encourage more people to fill out the forms without fear of having their privacy violated.
    — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of encourage
Verb
  • The main room in the second floor has 11-foot-four-inch ceilings, with a cutout looking up into the third floor.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Now, with social media, an intern could look up everyone on Instagram, says Pechman, and figure our the lay of the land.
    — Carole Horst, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of look up
Verb
  • These feelings of awe inspired by sequoia trees led to a material change in environmental policy.
    — Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • In 2000, the Millennium Prize Problems was established to inspire work towards solving these complex problems, offering a $1 million prize for the first correct solution to each problem.
    — Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of inspire
Verb
  • Why the dead girl’s computer glows with an unnatural brightness whenever the lights turn off?
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Along the way, we’ve been told to drink liters a day for energy, glowing skin, weight loss and even cancer prevention.
    — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of glow
Verb
  • 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
  • In 1970, the average Chinese woman was expected to bear up to six children throughout her lifetime.
    — Micah McCartney, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Definition of bear up
Verb
  • Yet as the branch of government closest to the people, Congress holds a unique spot in the system of checks and balances — one that is revived every two years as voters choose their representatives in the midterm elections, including this fall.
    — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • In the weeks ahead, Kavanaugh would work long hours on legislation to help the airline industry survive and create a federal terrorism insurance program later credited with reviving commercial development in New York City and throughout the nation.
    — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 9 Sep. 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 Sep. 2026.

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