keep up with the Joneses

idiom

informal + often disapproving

: to show that one is as good as other people by getting what they have and doing what they do

people trying to keep up with the Joneses by buying expensive cars and clothes that they can't afford

Examples of keep up with the Joneses in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Desire to keep up with the Joneses is nothing new, but staying plugged into social media channels that constantly show you lifestyles just out of reach will easily contribute to overspending. —Sian Beilock, Forbes, 4 May 2021

The Big 12 already has a presence in Texas and Dallas-Fort Worth, but what if the Pac-12 (hampered by losing two schools in its biggest television market) and the ACC (wanting to keep up with the Joneses, realignment style) wanted to get a presence in Texas? —Dallas News, 7 July 2022

Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses. —Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 9 Mar. 2023

Streaming makes sense to keep up with the Joneses. —Liza Lentini, SPIN, 27 Jan. 2023

For homeowners, pressure to keep up with the Joneses has reached a logical extreme. —Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 18 Nov. 2022

Tommy Lee Jones, Rashida Jones, Leslie Jones and a Jonas brother each drove a Toyota and told us to keep up with the Joneses. —Marc Bona, cleveland, 13 Feb. 2022

After all, 71 percent of those who try to keep up with the Joneses admit that their kids tend to spend most of their allowances almost immediately—this compares with just 40 percent of their counterparts who aren’t constantly trying to prove themselves, according to the T. Rowe Price survey. —Q.ai - Make Genius Money Moves, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2021

The constant pressure to keep up with the Joneses and look over our shoulders at what the next person is doing is a completely normal instinct. —Maggie Zhou, refinery29.com, 6 Oct. 2021