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

And from December 21st onward, Capricorn Season begins, followed by Venus and Juno stacking up in the same part of your sky. —Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 28 Nov. 2025

Glover speaks about the responsibility of being an employer, of keeping British manufacturing alive when the economics rarely stack up, and of honoring a lineage while running a viable modern company. —Kirsty McGregor, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2025

Matarazzo said that laundry would pile up and dirty dishes would stack up in the sink. —Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Nov. 2025

If the Red Sox still value future pitching security, the Royals stack up well to potentially offer a deal. —Kansas City Star, 27 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