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

Just like Aubrey in her interview with Deadline at the time of the pilot pickups, Bloys would not commit to a number of HBO dramas versus HBO Max dramas that his team plans to premiere a year and how the two would stack up alongside each other on the release calendar. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2025

But how does the rest of Winnipeg’s roster stack up? —Murat Ates, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025

LendingTree, which determined how child care costs stack up against rent in 100 cities. —Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025

Here’s a breakdown of each team’s resume thus far, what’s left on the schedule for each team, and how Miami stacks up. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 17 Nov. 2025

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