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

How Mecklenburg salaries stack up nationally Pay comparisons vary more when stacking Mecklenburg County up against similarly sized counties across the country. —Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 31 Mar. 2026

Many top cards, in addition to offering rewards for spending, now provide credits—usually of $5 to $20 a month—for services like Lyft, DoorDash, and Disney+ that can stack up to thousands of dollars a year in value. —Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2026

Multiple shelves can easily be stacked up to two units high, and no assembly is required. —Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026

Here's how Veterans United stacks up to two of our top picks for mortgage providers. —Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 27 Mar. 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