If you keep upwith someone or something that is moving near you, you move at the same speed.
She shook her head and started to walk on. He kept up with her. [VERBPARTICLE + with]
[Also VERBPARTICLE]
2. phrasal verb
To keep upwith something that is changing means to be able to cope with the change, usually by changing at the same rate.
...wage increases which keep up with inflation. [VERBPARTICLE + with]
Things are changing so fast, it's hard to keep up. [VERBPARTICLE]
3. phrasal verb
If you keep upwith your work or with other people, you manage to do or understand all your work, or to do or understand it as well as other people.
Penny tended to work through her lunch hour in an effort to keep up with her work. [VERBPARTICLE + with]
Life is tough for kids who aren't keeping up in school. [VERBPARTICLE]
4. phrasal verb
If you keep upwith what is happening, you make sure that you know about it.
She did not bother to keep up with the news. [VERBPARTICLE + with]
[Also VERBPARTICLE]
5. phrasal verb
If you keep something up, you continue to do it or provide it.
I was so hungry all the time that I could not keep the diet up for longer than amonth. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
They risk losing their homes because they can no longer keep up the repayments. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
6. phrasal verb
If you keep something up, you prevent it from growing less in amount, level, or degree.
There will be a major incentive among TV channels to keep standards up. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
Opposition forces are keeping up the pressure against the government. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
7. See also keep [sense 25]
More Synonyms of keep up
See full dictionary entry for keep
keep up in British English
verb(adverb)
1. (transitive)
to maintain (prices, one's morale) at the present level
2. (intransitive)
to maintain a pace or rate set by another
3. (intransitive; often foll bywith)
to remain informed
to keep up with technological developments
4. (transitive)
to maintain in good condition
5. (transitive)
to hinder (a person) from going to bed at night
the excitement kept the children up well past their bedtime
6. keep it up
7. keep one's chin up
8. keep one's end up
9. keep up with
10. keep up with the Joneses
keep up in American English
1.
to maintain in good order or condition
2.
to continue; not stop or end
3.
to maintain the pace; not lag behind
4.
to remain informed about
with on or with
See full dictionary entry for keep
Examples of 'keep up' in a sentence
keep up
Mary-Lou stuffed the blazer into the capacious pocket of her big coat and took to her heels to keep up with him.
Brent-Dyer, Elinor CHALLENGE FOR THE CHALET SCHOOL
In other languages
keep up
British English: keep up /kiːp ʌp/ VERB
If someone or something keeps up with another person or thing, the first one moves or progresses as fast as the second.
She shook her head and started to walk on. He kept up with her.
American English: keep up
Arabic: يُجَارِي
Brazilian Portuguese: manter
Chinese: 跟上
Croatian: držati korak
Czech: držet krok
Danish: holde trit med
Dutch: bijhouden
European Spanish: mantener el ritmo durar
Finnish: pysyä mukana
French: suivre
German: aufrechterhalten
Greek: συμβαδίζω
Italian: tenere il passo
Japanese: 維持する
Korean: 처지지 않고 따라가다
Norwegian: holde ved like
Polish: podtrzymać
European Portuguese: acompanhar
Romanian: a ține pasul
Russian: быть наравне
Latin American Spanish: aguantar el paso
Swedish: hålla jämna steg
Thai: ตามให้ทัน
Turkish: devam ettirmek
Ukrainian: підтримувати
Vietnamese: theo kịp
All related terms of 'keep up'
keep it up
to continue a good performance
keep up with
to remain in contact with, esp by letter
keep your end up
to do what you have said you will do or what you are expected to do in spite of difficult circumstances
to keep it up
If you keep it up , you continue working or trying as hard as you have been in the past .
keep one's chin up
to keep cheerful under difficult circumstances
keep one's end up
to sustain one's part in a joint enterprise
keep up appearances
If you keep up appearances , you try to behave and dress in a way that people expect of you, even if you can no longer afford it.
keep your chin up
to remain calm or cheerful in a difficult or unpleasant situation
keep one's pecker up
If you tell someone to keep their pecker up , you are encouraging them to be cheerful in a difficult situation.
keep your pecker up
to remain cheerful in a difficult situation
to keep your end up
If you have to keep your end up , or to keep up your end of something, you have to do something as well as other people, or as well as you are expected to do it.
keep up with the Joneses
If you say that someone is keeping up with the Joneses , you mean that they are doing something in order to show that they have as much money as other people, rather than because they really want to do it.
to keep up with the Joneses
if you say that someone is keeping up with the Joneses, you mean that they are doing something in order to show that they have as much money as other people, rather than because they really want to do it
Chinese translation of 'keep up'
keep up
vt
(= maintain)[standards]维(維)持 (wéichí)
⇒ It's important to keep up our standards.维持水准是很重要的。 (Wéichí shuǐzhǔn shì hěn zhòngyào de.)
(= continue)[payments, diet]继(繼)续(續) (jìxù)
⇒ He was unable to keep up the payments.他没能力继续付款。 (Tā méi nénglì jìxù fùkuǎn.)
(= prevent from sleeping) (使)熬夜 ((shǐ) áoyè)
⇒ We were kept up by the noise from next door.隔壁的噪音使我们睡不着觉。 (Gébì de zàoyīn shǐ wǒmen shuì bù zháo jiào.)
to keep up appearances撑(撐)场(場)面 (chēng chǎngmiàn)
vi
to keep up跟上 (gēnshàng)
to keep up with sb (walking, moving) 跟上某人 (gēnshàng mǒurén) (in work) 跟上某人 (gēnshàng mǒurén)
to keep up with demand/inflation跟上需求/通货(貨)膨胀(脹) (gēnshàng xūqiú/tōnghuò péngzhàng)
( intruder, unwelcome visitor ) 阻拦(攔) zǔlán ⇒ a guard dog to keep out intruders → 阻止闯入者的看家狗 zǔzhǐ chuǎngrùzhě de kānjiāgǒu
keep on
▶ to keep on doing sth 继(繼)续(續)做某事 jìxù zuò mǒushì ⇒ They kept on walking for a while in silence. → 他们继续走了一会儿，谁都没说话。 Tāmen jìxù zǒule yīhuìr, shuí dōu méi shuōhuà.
keep off
使不接近 shǐ bù jiējìn ⇒ a bamboo shelter to keep the rain off → 挡雨的竹棚 dǎngyǔ de zhúpéng ⇒ Keep your dog off my lawn! → 别让你的狗接近我的草坪！ Bié ràng nǐ de gǒu jiējìn wǒ de cǎopíng!
keep in with
搞好关(關)系(係) gǎohǎo guānxì ⇒ Now he is getting old he wishes he had kept in with his family. → 他年纪大了，后悔当初没有多亲近家人。 Tā niánji dà le, hòuhuǐ dāngchū méiyǒu duō qīnjìn jiārén.
keep in
( invalid, child ) 不让(讓)外出 bù ràng wàichū
keep from
▶ to keep from doing sth 克制 kèzhì ⇒ She bit her lip to keep from crying. → 她咬着嘴唇克制着自己不要哭。 Tā yǎozhe zuǐchún kèzhìzhe zìjǐ bù yào kū.
keep down
( control : prices, spending ) 控制 kòngzhì ⇒ We want to try and keep costs down. → 我们想尽量压缩费用。 Wǒmen xiǎng jǐnliàng yāsuō fèiyòng.
keep back
( reserve : paint, ingredients ) 保留 bǎoliú ⇒ Keep back enough juice to make the sauce. → 留足够的汁做调味汁。 Liú zúgòu de zhī zuò tiáowèizhī.
keep away
▶ to keep sth/sb away (from sth) 使某物/某人不要来(來)(某处(處)) shǐ mǒuwù/mǒurén bù yào lái (mǒuchù) ⇒ Keep animals away from the kitchen. → 别让动物到厨房里。 Bié ràng dòngwù dào chúfáng li.