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

Summit kept up the strong play as its defense forced and recovered a fumble from Dallas Simmons. —Jordan Neal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Oct. 2025

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? —Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025

The Mercury kept up their resilience throughout the fourth quarter, turning it into a six-point game at one point but Las Vegas proved to be too much. —Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025

The drive to keep up with innovation and deliver results can stretch leaders and teams to their limits, putting their well-being and resilience at risk. —Lara Abrash, Fortune, 11 Oct. 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)