up sticks /ˌʌp ˈstɪks/ verb2 •(informal, figurative) To prepare to move; to pack up; to go and live in a different place.If a doctor had to do an operation in a sailing ship, you upped sticks and went before the wind, he said. — 1945 •(UK, slang) To put up the mast of a ship in preparation for sailing. formsupped sticks · upping sticks · ups sticks