suck up to

verb

1. informal.
   intr, adverb+preposition to flatter for one's own profit; toady

Idioms and Phrases

Behave obsequiously towards, ingratiate oneself with, as in Now that he's the boss they're all sucking up to him, hoping to get big raises . [ Vulgar slang ; mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

A clown car full of grifters and kooks, meanwhile, used the primaries as an opportunity to suck up to Trump, whom everyone knew would inevitably be the nominee.

From Salon

“Again, that’s not the point, the point is to suck up to their Dear Leader.”

From Slate

Yes, he is a shallow, puerile narcissist who loves to suck up to tyrants so they'll let him into the strongman club but that doesn't fully explain his apparently endless need to prove his fealty to Vladimir Putin.

From Salon

As her recent rash of race-baiting comments shows, she is only too happy to suck up to racists, if she thinks it will get their votes.

From Salon

A super PAC backing Ms. Haley put out a new ad on broadcast television stations Friday that depicts Mr. DeSantis as a “suck up” to Mr. Trump — featuring old photos of them together, along with clips from a 2018 DeSantis campaign ad in which Mr. DeSantis recites Mr. Trump’s slogans to his children.

From New York Times

Related Words

• deceive
• delude
• dupe
• entice
• entrap
• seduce
• tantalize
• tempt
• wheedle