1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for catches up (with)
  1. catches
  2. overtakes
  3. chases
Verb
  • Cameron Roberts catches the ball at the 13 yard line and the Mainland defender is flagged for a late hit.
    — Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The shoes are a pointed-toe stiletto featuring pearl accents all throughout the uppers, creating a unique textural finish that catches the light.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of catches
Verb
  • The Athletic has approached Formula One Management for the data from the Spanish GP regarding how many overtakes actually happened.
    — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Can a squad of scientists (including Kurt Russell) fight off madness and mayhem before the Thing overtakes them all?
    — Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of overtakes
Verb
  • The Sköll is named after the giant wolf who relentlessly chases the sun across the sky in Norse mythology.
    — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Sep. 2026
  • In Norse mythology, Sköll is the name of a giant wolf that chases the sun across the sky.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 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

“Catches up (with).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catches%20up%20%28with%29. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All