play catch-up
idiom
: to try to reach the same position, score, etc., as a competitor after one has fallen behind
The team fell behind in the second inning and has had to play catch-up ever since.
The company has been trying to play a difficult game of catch-up ever since its competitor introduced the new product.
Examples of play catch-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Since the first Trump administration, the US has been trying to play catch-up and build up its own domestic rare earths supply chain.
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Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2025
To adapt to the district’s remote learning policies, which lasted from the start of the pandemic to the following spring, East Aurora School District 131 had to rapidly play catch-up on technology access.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025
As a business owner, a cash balance plan is an amazing way to reduce your tax liability and play catch-up for retirement.
—David Rae, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Experts say reading is also a harder subject to play catch-up on when students fall behind, and how teachers are trained for this problem needs to change.
—Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play catch-up
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Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2025
To adapt to the district’s remote learning policies, which lasted from the start of the pandemic to the following spring, East Aurora School District 131 had to rapidly play catch-up on technology access.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025
As a business owner, a cash balance plan is an amazing way to reduce your tax liability and play catch-up for retirement.
—David Rae, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Experts say reading is also a harder subject to play catch-up on when students fall behind, and how teachers are trained for this problem needs to change.
—Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for play catch-up
Cite this Entry
“Play catch-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20catch-up. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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