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

Improving while stacking up wins UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close is trying to keep her team focused on improving amid a 13-game win streak, including an 80-46 rout of Northwestern on Sunday. —Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026

The customer service phone lines will be slammed if flight cancellations and delays start stacking up during a bad storm. —Matt Nighswander, NBC news, 24 Jan. 2026

Keep progress modest and grounded to let small wins stack up. —Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026

Still, Leonard has to get healthier, Harden has to get refreshed, and the Clippers need to stack up wins against Western Conference teams. —Law Murray, New York Times, 23 Jan. 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