1 C1 idiomatic informal
To gather one's courage and face a difficult or frightening situation decisively.
"You need to gut up and tell your boss that the project is behind schedule."
inseparable
gut up
C1 informal inseparable intransitive
To summon courage and face a difficult or frightening situation; to find one's nerve.
In plain English
To be brave and do something scary or hard even when you feel like running away.
What does "gut up" mean?
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To bring one's guts (courage) upward; to summon bravery from within.
Actually means
To be brave and do something scary or hard even when you feel like running away.
Usage tip
Informal and relatively rare. Similar in meaning to 'man up' but less gender-loaded. Used mostly in North American casual speech. Often used as a direct command or encouragement.
Words that pair with "gut up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
challenge moment confrontation fear test situation
How to conjugate "gut up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
gut up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
guts up
he/she/it
Past simple
guted up
yesterday
Past participle
guted up
have + pp
-ing form
guting up
continuous
Hear "gut up" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "gut up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
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