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

Eklund is a likeable top-six winger, and the move could absolutely end up being worth it for the Senators, but the Sharks were already stacked up front with Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa, Igor Chernyshov, the extremely underrated Collin Graf, Kiefer Sherwood, and Tyler Toffoli. —Harman Dayal, New York Times, 24 June 2026

Recently released insights from the Atlantic Council attempted to project how much the government can hope to rake in using these tariff mechanisms, and whether new duties imposed under Section 301 can stack up to its IEEPA revenue. —Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 24 June 2026

And how does your duration stack up against others? —Christa Sgobba, Health, 24 June 2026

His opponents have been stacking up their own endorsements ahead of Election Day. —Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 22 June 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