stack up

verb

stacked up; stacking up; stacks up

intransitive verb

1

: to add up : total

2

: measure up, compare

—usually used with against

Synonyms

• approach
• approximate
• compare (with)
• measure up (to)

Examples of stack up in a Sentence

those newspapers have been stacking up in the basement since we moved here

Recent Examples on the Web

While stacking up a school-record 95 wins in four seasons before this season’s disappointment, Enfield boasted major local signings Evan and Isaiah Mobley (Rancho Christian), Onyeka Okongwu (Chino Hills) and Chimezie Metu (Lawndale). —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024

How today's event stacks up to past quakes What causes earthquakes? —Lucia Suarez Sang, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024

While its memory advantage may be helping too, the Slim 7i and its Core Ultra chip stack up well against the competition. —PCMAG, 31 Mar. 2024

Where does McCaffrey’s 2023 season stack up in recent years? —Safid Deen, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024

To better understand the geopolitical debate behind backing Kyiv, CNN analyzed how international assistance to Ukraine stacks up. —Henrik Pettersson, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024

Calhoon adds that pay transparency can help everyone understand how their salaries stack up to other people in similar roles. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024

For now, that realization means many return-to-office orders don’t stack up. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 24 Feb. 2024

Technology can often provide more accurate data to make informed decisions, reducing costly errors that can stack up unnoticed over time. 3. —Melissa Houston, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

stack up

verb

: measure up sense 2, compare

see how you stack up against the champion