belly-up

1 of 2

adjective

bel·​ly-up ˈbe-lē-ˈəp 

: hopelessly ruined or defeated

especially : bankrupt

the business went belly-up

belly up

2 of 2

verb

bellied up; bellying up; bellies up

intransitive verb

: to move close or next to

bellied up to the bar

Synonyms

Verb

• approach
• close
• close in
• come up
• draw on
• near
• nigh

Examples of belly-up in a Sentence

Verb

belly up to the buffet table and help yourselves

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Images of the wreckage that showed the plane lying belly-up went viral. —Rachel Wolf, Fox News, 21 Feb. 2025

The plane was found belly-up in three pieces, and all 64 people aboard were killed, officials said Thursday. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2025

BitcoinBuilder, Jones’s exchange, had a significant amount of funds tied up in Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest exchange and which went belly-up after hackers siphoned approximately $500 million from under its owner’s nose. —Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 11 Apr. 2023

Verb

When a property and casualty insurer does go belly up, there are safety nets for policyholders in the form of state guaranty associations, which are established by state law but privately funded by the insurance industry. —Ron Lieber, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2025

The 7-second clip shows the tiny puppy sprawled out with its belly up, lying limply across its owner's chest and neck, as if drained from a grueling day of activity. —William Lambers, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025

The enterprise went belly up and created a rift with some family members who were part of the venture. —Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025

Yet, even with Philadelphia squaring off against Kansas City in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the patrons of Big Charlie’s still belly up to the bar in the belly of the beast. —Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2025

Still others have gone belly up and find themselves in receivership with more coming. —Andrew Deangelo, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024

Part of the clip shows the two cuddling on the couch with Daisy's belly up, happily accepting pets. —David Faris, Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2025

There’s certainly a decent stack of cautionary tales, examples of where a manager returning to the site of former glory goes belly up. —Nick Miller, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025

Go in a smallish group, belly up to the bar to put your name in, then order a strong drink if there's a wait. —Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from the floating position of a dead fish

First Known Use

Adjective

1918, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1880, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for belly-up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup