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

Who wants to keep up with a market changing by the minute, not just by the day? —Zev Fima, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026

Triton Troupers Circus has kept up with the times in terms of equipment and safety. —Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026

To keep up, Estrada has added a fuel surcharge to every trip. —Robbie Owens, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026

Want to be kept up with all things Survivor? —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 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)