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to ruck up

to ruck up

9.4
To pack your things quickly to get ready to leave
  • phrasal verb
  • UK
translation icon : recoger
  • She told everyone to ruck up their stuff before the campfire ended.

Examples

  • The soldiers quickly rucked up and moved to the next checkpoint.

  • I had to ruck up my clothes quickly.

  • It's almost time to ruck up and head out for the expedition.

  • Please ruck up your belongings before we leave!

  • It's almost time to ruck up and head out for the expedition.

  • Please ruck up your belongings before we leave!

  • She told everyone to ruck up their stuff before the campfire ended.

Synonyms

to move it
vsto ruck up
  • Informal
512 6.7

To hurry so you do something faster, often to avoid being late

implies preparing to leave or gathering belongings, not just speeding up
to gear up
vsto ruck up
68 3.7

To get ready for an activity by preparing people or equipment

is narrower, stressing rapid personal packing or leaving rather than planning
to gather up
vsto ruck up
43 2.1

Bring things together by picking them up with your hands

is about getting ready to move on, not only the physical collection of items
to clear the decks
vsto ruck up
  • Informal
4 5.7

Finish current tasks and remove problems to prepare for something new

is more about quick personal departure or packing rather than clearing tasks
to pack shit
vsto ruck up
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To put your things into bags before you travel or move, like clothes and chargers

also covers readying oneself for action beyond just organizing belongings
to hussy up
vsto ruck up
  • UK
9.7

To hurry and get ready when you need to leave

is about preparing to move on, often by gathering belongings quickly
to huckle up
vsto ruck up
  • Informal
9.9

Get ready to act with energy and strong focus

focuses more on quick readiness and collecting items before leaving

Antonyms

110 2.7

To make people or animals move quickly in different directions

How Prepared

to prepare for
487 2.8
to ruck up
  • UK
9.4

Surface Forms

ruck up infinitive
rucked up past
rucked up past participle
rucking up present participle
rucks up third person singular

Morphology

ruck + up

The verb 'ruck' has a core meaning of gathering or drawing together (albeit rare), and combined with the particle 'up' the phrase can be partially interpreted as 'gather up' belongings. However, the extended sense 'prepare for action' or the specific collocational use with personal belongings is metaphorical and low-frequency, so a B1 learner who knows the component meanings may only partially infer the full MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb ruck up may come from soldiers lifting their rucksacks and getting ready to move. Picture soldiers quickly packing their bags and leaving, so to ruck up came to mean 'to pack up and get ready to go'.