buck up

British  

verb

1. to make or cause to make haste

2. to make or become more cheerful, confident, etc

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buck up Idioms  

1. Cheer up, become encouraged, as in Buck up! We'll soon have it done, or Even the promise of a vacation did not buck her up. This term was first recorded in 1844.

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Example Sentences

Bernard DeVoto once tried to buck up his friend Catherine Drinker Bowen, who was wavering between a career in history and one in music.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

The pair were told to buck up their ideas by the referee as they began talking to each other during the middle of the rounds.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2025

The officials were also trying to buck up their own staff.

From New York Times • Dec. 5, 2023

Still, the more you observe these corporate leaders who ax swaths of employees and tell the survivors to buck up, the more you realize how eerily they’re all taking after Musk specifically.

From Slate • Sep. 14, 2023

She, too, had a strong inclination to tell Lord Fredrick to buck up and look on the bright side.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood