play catch-up

play catch-up

To try to reach the same level of understanding, accomplishment, etc. as others, typically after a late start. I'm sorry, I'm playing catch-up here—how do you know my wife? I just transferred into this class, so now I have to play catch-up with all the material the professor covered in the first few weeks. Thanks to our terrible start, we've been playing catch-up all season.See also: play

play catch-up

try to equal a competitor in a sporting event.See also: play

play ˈcatch-up

try to equal somebody that you are competing against in a sport, competition, business, etc: The oil company has spent the last couple of years playing catch-up.We were forced to play catch-up after a bad start to the season.See also: play