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• catch-up
  catch-up

  noun

  an effort to reach or pass a norm, especially after a period of delay.
• catch up
  catch up

  verb

  (tr) to seize and take up (something) quickly

catch-up

American  

[kach-uhp] / ˈkætʃˌʌp /

noun

1. an effort to reach or pass a norm, especially after a period of delay.

   After the slowdown there was a catch-up in production.

2. an effort to catch up with or surpass a competitor, as in a sports contest.

3. an instance of catching up.

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adjective

1. intended to keep up with or surpass a norm or competitor.

   a catch-up pay raise to offset inflation.

idioms

1. play catch-up, to make a special effort to overcome a late start, a liability, or the advantage a competitor has.

   After Russia launched the first space satellite, other countries had to play catch-up.

catch up British  

verb

1. (tr) to seize and take up (something) quickly

2. to reach or pass (someone or something), after following

   he soon caught him up

3. (intr; usually foll by on or with) to make up for lost ground or deal with a backlog (in some specified task or activity)

4. (tr; often passive) to absorb or involve

   she was caught up in her reading

5. (tr) to raise by or as if by fastening

   the hem of her dress was caught up with ribbons

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catch up More Idioms  

1. Suddenly snatch or lift up, as in The wind caught up the kite and sent it high above the trees . [First half of 1300s]

2. Also, catch up with . Come from behind, overtake. This usage can be either literal, as in You run so fast it's hard to catch up with you , or figurative, as in The auditors finally caught up with the embezzler . [Mid-1800s]

3. Become involved with, enthralled by, as in We all were caught up in the magical mood of that evening . [Mid-1600s]

4. Also, . Bring or get up to date, as in Let's get together soon and catch up on all the news , or Tonight I have to catch up with my correspondence . [First half of 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of catch-up

1835–45, noun, adj. use of verb phrase catch up

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

catch-up catch up

American is playing catch-up with competitors, though, after rivals curbed the practice years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“It’s been a bit of a catch-up trade, frankly.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

But mostly, I do the dance of having to schedule a catch-up like it’s a work meeting.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

They have a proper catch-up roughly once a week, and she has learned not to take it personally if she doesn't hear from them.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

On my way out the door, the teacher handed me a huge folder: the worksheets I would need to do as catch-up work.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

"Yep, I'll be around and I really enjoyed this year getting to catch up," said Fleming.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Mr. Miéville peppers his pages with references to real-life people, literature and political history, casually throwing them into the text and expecting the reader to catch up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Math scores would virtually catch up to prepandemic levels by next year at the current pace.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Siri AI is central to Apple's effort to catch up with rivals in generative artificial intelligence, and it is built on AI technology from Google Gemini.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

School was getting harder for me too because I couldn’t catch up anymore with all that I was missing.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

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