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

Relevance

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 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bellying up
  1. coming up
  2. drawing on
  3. closing in
  4. approaching
  5. closing
  6. coming
Verb
  • The Americans, at last coming up for air, had a moment late in the half that buoyed a capacity crowd in Seattle’s NFL stadium and numerous watch parties throughout San Diego County.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026
  • Of course, actually coming up with the mnemonic can be a task unto itself.
    — Aytekin Tank, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of coming up
Verb
  • Someone who is actually drawing on the tropes and the techniques of science fiction toward a different end, toward actually accessing capital markets.
    — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026
  • The winning numbers for the Powerball lottery drawing on Wednesday, July 1, are 2, 6, 26, 39, 68, and the Powerball is 6.
    — Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Definition of drawing on
Verb
  • Culpepper, who seemed to be closing in on a major league call-up last month, had landed on the IL from June 16-28 with the same injury.
    — Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 7 July 2026
  • Evereve had a store on the Plaza for 10 years before closing in late December.
    — Jenna Thompson June 26, Kansas City Star, 26 June 2026
Definition of closing in
Verb
  • With group play coming to a close and the Round of 32 approaching, the competition is heating up as teams look to punch their tickets to the knockout round in hopes of hoisting the FIFA World Cup Trophy at the final on Sunday, July 19.
    — Jaclyn Hendricks, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026
  • With two or three roster spots still to fill for next season, the Heat is also on its way to approaching the first apron of $209 million.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
Definition of approaching
Verb
  • Hadley was very active, closing with seven points, 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 24 minutes.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026
  • Oil prices, which skyrocketed for the first few months of the US-Israeli war with Iran, are now coming back down, closing a window of opportunity for Russia to use higher profits on its exports to close its widening budget deficit.
    — Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
Definition of closing
Verb
  • Beyond California, scientists are raising alarms over the planet’s warming oceans, which — coupled with a strong El Niño — could increase temperatures for land dwellers in the coming weeks.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Over the coming days, he is expected to meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Russia's war.
    — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 6 July 2026
Definition of coming

Browse Nearby Words

bellying
bellying up
belly-land
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bellying up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bellying%20up. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All