measure up


verb
  1. (adverb) to determine the size of (something) by measurement

  2. measure up to to fulfil (expectations, standards, etc)

Words Nearby measure up

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use measure up in a sentence

  • He looked like a mountaineer and could hardly be expected to measure up to the bluegrass requirements of courtesy.

    The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville Buck
  • Undoubtedly McGee was in great form and he might well be expected to measure up to his best to-day.

    Corporal Cameron | Ralph Connor
  • "Even taller than Phil Tremont," she thought, and Phil was her standard of all that a man should measure up to in every way.

    Mary Ware's Promised Land | Annie Fellows Johnston
  • Brand's a stand-offish kind of cuss, but he don't measure up so much higher than other folks as what he thinks, mebbe.

    Pippin; A Wandering Flame | Laura E. Richards
  • According to the canons of perfection he did not measure up to the standard.

    The Chalice Of Courage | Cyrus Townsend Brady

Other Idioms and Phrases with measure up

measure up

Be the equal of, as in Is he a good enough actor to measure up to the other members of the cast? [Early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.