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 of keep up

• survive
• last
• prevail

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

This places extra strain on the heart, which pumps harder to keep up with demand. — Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026

The gap between what is taught in school and what is needed in the workplace is widening more quickly than most institutions can keep up with. — Eric Francia, Fortune, 7 July 2026

The Sri Lanka bowlers kept up pressure throughout the day, making good use of short-pitch bowling to limit the scoring. — ABC News, 6 July 2026

The authors recommended keeping up the funding, though the report didn’t elaborate on extending those initiatives. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for keep up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

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)