BELLY UP Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

belly up

verb

Definition of belly up

as in to close

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 belly up Topline Google agreed to pay $10 million for an enormous trove of business data from bankrupt Spirit Airlines—raising questions about what happens to privacy after a company goes belly up and AI swoops in. — Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 And then, suddenly, a male orca soared into view, belly up, and smashed his head into the dead fish. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 23 July 2026 Snorkel with turtles in the Tobago Cays; relax on Canouan’s Godahl Beach; or belly up to Basil’s Bar on Mustique. — Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2026 Dominick’s, a nearly century-old company that once had some 70-plus outlets across Chicagoland, went belly up at the end of 2013 as competition from independents and chains took its toll. — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026 The new place has a bar to belly up to, a beat-up car for families and kids to play in and pose for the 'Gram and TikTok, and colorful neon signs. — Charlie D'agata, CBS News, 10 June 2026 The store went belly up in a few short years as the Great Depression hit. — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2026 The private patio space off of the living room bellies up to the beach, where two sunbeds and an umbrella are set up for sunset happy hours. — Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 24 Feb. 2026 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 belly up

Verb

At the same time, many of these tech companies, like Microsoft and IBM, have been providing accessible professional certificate programs to workers across the globe in hopes of closing the skills gap.

— Charlotte Hu, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
The port was also closed for months following a devastating earthquake in 2015.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of close

Verb

Fleming by body camera footage, approached Parker, who was talking on his cellphone.

— Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
The project uses horror and darkly comic genre elements to approach the psychological pressures of motherhood, extending Urban’s interest in personal experience as a route into broader social and political terrain.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of approach

Verb

Yet perhaps the unsung hero in the market was China, which drew on its huge stockpiles, leaving more oil in the market for other economies.

— Katie Silver, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Testing the core concepts The approach draws on a fuel concept first developed by General Atomics during the 1950s Atoms for Peace initiative.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of draw on

Verb

And with players in major European leagues still able to depart their clubs beyond the deadline, there is potential for big deals to still be done in the coming days.

— Leon Imber, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
The big hits didn’t come all night for the Sox in a 6-3 loss in front of 21,236 at Daikin Park.

— LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of come

Verb

In just three months, that figure neared the roughly $156 billion worth of facilities that were disrupted during all of 2025.

— Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
Phoenix is nearing the end of a 13-day streak of extreme heat warnings where temperatures on most days have been over 110 degrees.

— Tevian Whitehurst, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of near

Verb

Meantime, which is coming up next year with James McAvoy, or Jackal, because these stories all need something different.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Lake Nona is off to a 4-0 start with a home match against Winter Park coming up next Thursday.

— Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of come up

Browse Nearby Words

belly laughs

belly up

belong

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“Belly up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belly%20up. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of belly up

verb

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