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

Dual citizenship, however, has a flip side—including keeping up with the U.S. tax system. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 May 2025

Since 1984, Dell has been dominating the prebuilt PC and accessory market by making hardware that keeps up with modern needs at reasonable prices. —K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 May 2025

Similarly, Intel’s failure to keep up in the AI chip market led to layoffs and a $10 billion reduction in capital spending. —Russell Sarder, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025

But the union said both proposals fell short, citing that the 13-percent wage increase over four years fails to keep up with rising costs of living. —Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 23 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for keep up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

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)