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
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2
as in to encourage
to fill with courage or strength of purpose
a surprise presidential visit to buck up the troops
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Recent Examples of buck up
An Amazon search currently shows me options from seven bucks up to a hundred.
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New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2024
Gandalf uses it to help buck up the fellowship ferrying the ring through Middle-earth and, later, the men defending the city of Gondor.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 12 Sep. 2024
And his stealth war pronouncements aimed to buck up his rule-of-law bona fides and to give him breathing room to meet the threat for three more years, running out the clock on his national security responsibilities and passing to his successor the quandary of how to legitimize permanent secret war.
—Jack Goldsmith, Foreign Affairs, 23 May 2013
President Biden’s lieutenants want to write off his dismal debate performance on Thursday as one bad night and are calling on Democrats to buck up and fight.
—E.j. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 30 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for buck up 
New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2024
Gandalf uses it to help buck up the fellowship ferrying the ring through Middle-earth and, later, the men defending the city of Gondor.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 12 Sep. 2024
And his stealth war pronouncements aimed to buck up his rule-of-law bona fides and to give him breathing room to meet the threat for three more years, running out the clock on his national security responsibilities and passing to his successor the quandary of how to legitimize permanent secret war.
—Jack Goldsmith, Foreign Affairs, 23 May 2013
President Biden’s lieutenants want to write off his dismal debate performance on Thursday as one bad night and are calling on Democrats to buck up and fight.
—E.j. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 30 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for buck up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buck up
Verb
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Over time, the antibacterial and antiinflammatory ingredient will help to soften and smooth the skin’s texture, and even brighten it.Neha Tandon, Glamour, 28 Oct. 2024
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The result is a French-California bistro where beef tartare gets brightened by the crunch of green beans and amberjack crudo receives a garnish of cucumber and grape salad.Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Gifts Under $50 Keep it traditional by giving him high-quality underwear or encourage him to pamper himself with a grooming kit from one of our favorite beauty brands.Genevieve Cepeda, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
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In between tales of dinner parties in Copenhagen and wearing Christian Lacroix straw hats in Paris, Blair encourages us to wait for the moonlight to better illuminate our photographs.Elise Taylor, Vogue, 19 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Things are also looking up for Stefany Serna, 33, a server at a steakhouse in Coral Gables, Florida.Shannon Pettypiece, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
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Huang told her friend to look up at the birds resting on a tree.Joseph Bien-Kahn, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2024
Verb
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GameMaker's homepage inspires confidence in potential users by displaying the acclaimed indie games (Hotline Miami, Katana Zero, Nidhogg) made with the engine.PCMAG, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
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Tom Cruise could never inspire this much confidence.Brian Grubb, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Users can see a developing fire on the map, represented by a glowing yellow dot well before its perimeter is reported to the NIFC.Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
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One key incumbent appeared to be heading off a possible upset: That was Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who seemed likely to continue his astounding run as the only Republican to hold countywide office, even as Oakland County seemingly glows a brighter blue with each election.Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The eating tray can be easily attached and bear up to 30 lbs.Nora Colomer, Fox News, 27 July 2024
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Aggravating factors include fishing, pollution and habitat loss, on top of the species' unusually infrequent and low-yielding breeding patterns – sand tigers don't breed annually, and only bear up to two pups at a time.Kyle Schmidbauer, Fox News, 26 Mar. 2024
Verb
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The authorities did make gestures at reviving home buying and ridding the markets of surplus units.Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
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That was when Britain’s AC Cars, which had a relationship with Zagato dating back to the AC Ace Bristol Zagato from 1957, offered to help revive the vehicle and badge it as an AC model.Howard Walker, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Buck up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buck%20up. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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