stack up

verb

stacked up; stacking up; stacks up

intransitive verb

1

: to add up

Cars were beginning to stack up behind the bus.

2

: to be in a particular state or situation

Here's how things stack up today.

3

: measure up, compare

—usually used with against

How does he stack up against the other job candidates?

Synonyms of stack up

• compare (with)
• measure up (to)

Examples of stack up in a Sentence

those newspapers have been stacking up in the basement since we moved here

Recent Examples on the Web

Members can stack up points toward free menu items, score free pancakes on their birthday and take advantage of other special offers. — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Here is how the wand stacks up against the mask and the panel taking over at-home wellness routines. — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2026

Those mistakes helped produce nine points for the Cardinals as the 49ers’ injuries stacked up. — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026

When the data is clean and one owner runs the system, the results stack up in your favor. — Erik Huberman, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stack up

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

Kids Definition

stack up

verb

: measure up sense 2, compare

see how you stack up against the champion