keep up
Britishverb
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(tr) to maintain (prices, one's morale) at the present level
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(intr) to maintain a pace or rate set by another
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to remain informed
to keep up with technological developments
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(tr) to maintain in good condition
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(tr) to hinder (a person) from going to bed at night
the excitement kept the children up well past their bedtime
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to continue a good performance
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to keep cheerful under difficult circumstances
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to maintain one's stance or position against opposition or misfortune
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to remain in contact with, esp by letter
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informal to compete with one's neighbours in material possessions, etc
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Also, keep up with . Proceed at the same pace, continue alongside another, as in We try to keep up with the times . [First half of 1600s] This usage, also put as keep pace , appears in the phrase keeping up with the Joneses , which was coined in 1913 by cartoonist Arthur R. Momand for the title of a series in the New York Globe . It means “trying to match the lifestyle of one's more affluent neighbors or acquaintances.” For example, Their buying a new van is just another attempt to keep up with the Joneses .
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Support, sustain, as in They're trying to keep up their spirits while they wait for news of the crash . [Late 1600s] Also see keep one's chin up .
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Maintain in good condition, as in Joan really kept up the property . [Mid-1500s] This usage also appears in the idiom keep up appearances , meaning “to maintain a good front, make things look good even if they're not,” as in She was devastated by his bad prognosis but is trying hard to keep up appearances for their children . [Mid-1700s]
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Persevere, carry on, prolong, as in Keep up the good work , or How long will this noise keep up? [Early 1500s] Also see keep it up .
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Also, keep up with ; keep up on . Stay in touch, remain informed. For example, Ann and I haven't seen each other since college, but we keep up through our annual Christmas letters , or We subscribe to three papers so as to keep up on current events . [c. 1900]
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keep someone up . Cause someone to remain out of bed, as in He's keeping up the children beyond their bedtime . [Mid-1700s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They described students arriving on campus without the skills to keep up with their peers, and being too far behind to catch up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Health workers on the front line are struggling to keep up with the spread of the virus in the vast central African country, which is among the poorest on the planet.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
"It sits absolutely between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, and books in fact," he explains handily, as it can be difficult to keep up with the ever-expanding Tolkienverse.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
However, once temperatures rose, their slow metabolisms could no longer keep up.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
The rabbis encouraged them, and they made the women and young people sing and play tambourines and timbrels to keep up their spirits .
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
