CATCHES UP (WITH) Synonyms: 10 Similar and Opposite Words

catches up (with)

verb

present tense third-person singular of catch up (with)

as in catches

to move fast enough to get even with I walked faster to catch up with my friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

falls short

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for catches up (with)

Verb

Cavatappi’s corkscrew shape catches every bite of the creamy sauce, but elbow macaroni or small shells work just as well.

— Inés Anguiano, Bon Appetit Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026
Payer rules get hand-coded, while clinical edge cases get patched one at a time, usually after someone downstream catches the mistake.

— Fawad Butt, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of catches

Verb

In Kurzweil’s version, the singularity involves an unmistakable break in which machine intelligence overtakes humanity and technological progress becomes impossible to predict.

— Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 27 July 2026
But in most cases, the variant with the biggest edge overtakes the population.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 July 2026

Definition of overtakes

Verb

With Blair determined to stop him, while Leighton relentlessly chases his grand vision of creating a perfect world.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 5 Aug. 2026
All that guessing will create herding and noise trading as the crowd chases the crowd like a dog chases its tail, in a futile attempt to get ahead of the next unpredictable change in what humors the Big Player.

— Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of chases

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

catches up

catches up (with)

catch fire

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Catches up (with).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catches%20up%20%28with%29. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of catches up (with)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

pedagogical

Popular in Grammar & Usage

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes