keep up

verb

kept up; keeping up; keeps up

transitive verb

: to persist or persevere in

kept up the good work

also : maintain, sustain

keep standards up

intransitive verb

1

: to keep adequately informed or up-to-date

keep up on international affairs

2

: to continue without interruption

rain kept up all night

3

: to maintain contact or relations with someone

keep up with old friends

Synonyms

• hold out
• hold up
• last
• prevail
• survive

Examples of keep up in a Sentence

let's hope that old air conditioner keeps up through this heat wave

kept the house up while the owners were gone

Recent Examples on the Web

In their intensively competitive family, Jack wanted to keep up with his older brother, Joseph Kennedy Jr., who left Harvard Law School in June 1941 and was commissioned an ensign the following year. —Steven Gillon / Made By History, TIME, 17 Feb. 2025

What’s the situation in California? As eggs become scarcer and suppliers struggle to keep up with demand, prices will rise. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2025

Zillow estimates that more than 4.5 million homes need to be built to keep up with the housing shortfall and meet existing demand. —Jason Hidalgo, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2025

The calf, who is yet to be named, was born on February 8 and could be seen leaping around in the hay, while his concerned mom, Mama Fern, stood nearby and tried to keep up with him. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

keep up

verb

1

: maintain sense 1

keep standards up

2

: to stay well informed about something

keep up on the news

3

: to continue without interruption

rain kept up all night

4

: to stay even with others (as in a race)