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butch up

C1 informal separable both
In simple words

To act more tough and manly, or to make something look tougher.

Meanings

1 C1 idiomatic informal

To behave or present oneself in a more stereotypically masculine way.

"His friends told him to butch up and stop worrying about what other people thought of him."

2 C1 idiomatic informal

To make something look tougher, more rugged, or more masculine in design.

"The car designers decided to butch up the new model's front end with a larger grille and wider wheel arches."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Can be used in a critical or ironic way (telling a man to stop being sensitive) or in a practical design sense (making an object look more rugged). In LGBTQ contexts, a butch person adopts more masculine expression; 'butch up' can mean to lean into that style. The term can be considered offensive depending on context.

Commonly used with

appearance image design attitude style look

Forms

Base
butch up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
butches up
he/she/it
Past simple
butched up
yesterday
Past participle
butched up
have + pp
-ing form
butching up
continuous

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Synonyms

man up toughen up be more masculine harden up look tougher

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