buck up

British

verb

to make or cause to make haste
to make or become more cheerful, confident, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

buck up Idioms

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

So, kids, it’s time to buck up and put on a smile.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 17, 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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023