to ruck up
- phrasal verb
- UK
- She told everyone to ruck up their stuff before the campfire ended.
Examples
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The soldiers quickly rucked up and moved to the next checkpoint.
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I had to ruck up my clothes quickly.
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It's almost time to ruck up and head out for the expedition.
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Please ruck up your belongings before we leave!
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It's almost time to ruck up and head out for the expedition.
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Please ruck up your belongings before we leave!
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She told everyone to ruck up their stuff before the campfire ended.
Synonyms
To hurry so you do something faster, often to avoid being late
To get ready for an activity by preparing people or equipment
Bring things together by picking them up with your hands
Finish current tasks and remove problems to prepare for something new
To put your things into bags before you travel or move, like clothes and chargers
To hurry and get ready when you need to leave
Get ready to act with energy and strong focus
Antonyms
How Prepared
Surface Forms
Morphology
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'.