measure up

verb

measured up; measuring up; measures up

intransitive verb

1

: to have necessary or fitting qualifications

As a candidate for the job, he didn't measure up.

—often used with to

Her work didn't measure up to our expectations.

2

: to be the equal (as in ability)

Her early films were promising, but more recent ones haven't measured up.

—used with to

His recent novels haven't measured up to his earlier works.

Synonyms of measure up

• compare (with)
• approximate
• stack up (against or with)
• reflect
• approach
• hold a candle to
• match

Examples of measure up in a Sentence

he always worried about measuring up to his older brother

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, lithium niobate — which is more stable and easier to fabricate, even if its properties don’t quite measure up with those of barium titanate — filled that role instead. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2025

Daniels set the bar so incredibly high last year that measuring up against that was always going to be difficult. —Zak Keefer, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025

There’s a lot of pressure as twins to measure up to each other. —Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025

Players select their favorite animal paw and then decide how each one measures up on the cuteness scale. —Pamela Brill, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for measure up

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

Kids Definition

measure up

verb

1

: to have necessary or fitting qualifications

2

: to be the equal (as in ability)

—used with to