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

Several building owners watched their tenants leave or payments on their debt balloon with rents unable to keep up after the 2020 pandemic upended the office market. — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 22 Sep. 2026

When promoter Live Nation couldn’t keep up with the droves of ticketbuyers, a second show on Sunday was added. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

To help, British Columbia transported in temporary workers, who needed temporary housing, to keep up with demand for emergency services. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026

While begrudgingly settling, the WGA vowed to keep up the fight, focusing on a reinstatement of fin-syn rules for the streaming era. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 21 Sep. 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)