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

• 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

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? —Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025

After doubling since the April low, the former tech sector leader is failing to keep up with other stocks. —John Navin, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

Your best defense is to keep up with those yearly gyno visits. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 5 Sep. 2025

Right now, the next big thing is keeping up a livestream in an elevator. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025

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)