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

Hundreds of Canadian and American military personnel and civilians volunteer keep up with Santa. —Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024

The Cavaliers jumped out to 15 straight wins to begin the year and have kept up that pace even with four losses on the year. —Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 24 Dec. 2024

One small recycling company, for example, needed additional capital to increase production to keep up with a major client. —Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 23 Dec. 2024

That has intensified a price war that further threatens Japanese brands, which are fighting to keep up with cleaner cars of their own. —Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024

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)