keep up
3 meanings
move or learn as fast as someone or something else
What does "keep up" mean in this sense?
Examples
- Workers' wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living.
- She found it hard to keep up with the rest of the class after missing two weeks.
- The internet moves so fast — can anyone really keep up with all the new trends?
How to use it
The most common pattern — use it to say that someone matches the pace or level of a person, group, or thing.
He was walking so fast that I could barely keep up with him.
Very commonly used after verbs like 'struggle', 'manage', or phrases like 'find it hard' to describe difficulty in matching a pace or rate.
Many small businesses struggle to keep up with the rapid changes in technology.
Negative constructions with modal verbs are especially natural and frequently heard in everyday speech.
Prices are rising so fast that our budget simply can't keep up with them.
When the thing being matched is already clear from context, you can drop 'with' and its object and just say 'keep up'.
The other students were reading so quickly — I just couldn't keep up.
Commonly used to talk about staying informed about events, news, or developments.
It's almost impossible to keep up with all the latest news these days.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
'Keep up with' means you are already at the same level and are trying to stay there. 'Catch up with' means you are behind and trying to reach the same level as someone ahead of you. These are different situations, so use them carefully.
'Keep up with' is about matching a pace, rate, or level of information. 'Keep in touch with' means to stay in contact with someone — for example, by calling or messaging them. They are not interchangeable.
'Keep up with' is a three-part phrasal verb and cannot be separated. The object must always come after 'with', never between the parts of the phrase.
Usage
This phrasal verb is neutral and works in both formal and informal contexts. It is very often used in negative sentences ('I can't keep up with...'), and when the comparison is already clear, you can drop 'with' and its object and simply say 'I can't keep up.'
continue doing something at the same level
Sense 2: What does "keep sth up" mean?
Examples
- You've been working so hard this week — keep it up!
- The team has kept up the pressure throughout the entire match.
- It's difficult to keep up appearances when you're feeling so stressed.
How to use it
The most common pattern — use it when the object is a noun phrase describing a quality, standard, or ongoing effort.
She has managed to keep up her high standards even during a busy period at work.
When the object is a pronoun, it must go between 'keep' and 'up' — you cannot put it after 'up'.
Your presentation skills have improved a lot — keep it up!
Short noun phrases can also be separated, with the object placed between 'keep' and 'up'.
The company has worked hard to keep the momentum up despite a difficult year.
'Keep up the good work' is a semi-fixed expression used to encourage someone who is performing well.
Your manager left a note saying: 'Keep up the good work — we really appreciate your effort.'
This phrasal verb is frequently used after modal verbs when talking about the ability or need to maintain something.
We need to keep up the pressure if we want to finish the project on time.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
When the object is a pronoun like 'it' or 'them', it must go between 'keep' and 'up'. Placing the pronoun after 'up' is incorrect.
'Keep up' (with an object like 'the effort' or 'standards') means to maintain something. 'Keep up with' means to stay at the same level as others or stay informed about something — it is a different phrasal verb with a different meaning.
For this meaning — making something continue — 'keep up' always needs an object. You cannot use it intransitively to mean 'continue' in this sense.
Usage
This phrasal verb is neutral in register and works in both spoken and written English. It is especially common as a phrase of encouragement in workplaces, schools, and sports. 'Keep it up' and 'keep up the good work' are near-fixed expressions you can use in almost any motivational context.
stop someone from going to bed or sleeping
Sense 3: What does "keep sb up" mean?
Examples
- The noise from the party kept me up all night.
- What kept you up so late last night — was it the baby?
- Her cough has kept her up every night this week.
How to use it
This is the standard pattern — the person who cannot sleep always goes between 'keep' and 'up'.
The thunderstorm kept us up for most of the night.
Pronouns like me, him, her, and us are the most natural objects and must go between 'keep' and 'up', never after 'up'.
My neighbour's dog kept me up until almost two in the morning.
Time expressions like 'all night', 'until midnight', or 'for hours' are very commonly added to explain how long the sleep was disrupted.
His cough kept him up all night, so he called in sick the next day.
This question form is a natural way to ask what caused someone's sleep disruption.
You look exhausted — what kept you up last night?
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
The object must always go between 'keep' and 'up'. Placing it after 'up' is ungrammatical in this sense.
When 'keep up' means to prevent sleeping, the object is always a person. If the object is an activity or a standard (like 'the good work' or 'the payments'), it has a completely different meaning.
Usage
This phrasal verb is neutral and works in both spoken and written English. The cause of the sleeplessness is always the subject, and the person who cannot sleep is the object (e.g. 'The storm kept the whole family up').
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use 'keep up with' in the passive, like 'the changes were kept up with'?
No — 'keep up with' cannot be used in the passive. The person or thing doing the matching is always the subject of the sentence. So you would say 'We kept up with the changes', not 'The changes were kept up with'.
What kinds of things can follow 'keep up with'?
You can use 'keep up with' with a very wide range of nouns. Common examples include people or groups (keep up with the class), abstract rates (keep up with inflation, keep up with demand), and information (keep up with the news, keep up with developments). Basically, anything that moves, grows, or changes at a rate you're trying to match.
What does 'keep up with the Joneses' mean?
This is a fixed English expression that means trying to have the same possessions, lifestyle, or social status as your neighbours or the people around you. For example, if your neighbour buys a new car and you feel pressure to buy one too, that's 'keeping up with the Joneses'. It often suggests that this kind of competition is unnecessary or stressful.
Is it natural to say 'I will be keeping up with the news'?
It's possible, but the future continuous sounds a bit awkward with 'keep up with' in most situations. It's much more natural to say 'I'll keep up with the news' or to use the present simple and present continuous for this kind of meaning.
Can 'keep up with' be used for physical situations, like running or walking?
Yes, absolutely. 'Keep up with' works naturally for physical pace — for example, a child struggling to keep up with faster adults, or a slower runner trying to keep up with the group. The meaning is the same: staying at the same speed so you don't fall behind.
What kinds of things can you 'keep up'?
The object is usually something abstract — a quality, standard, level of effort, or ongoing activity. Common examples include 'keep up appearances', 'keep up the pressure', 'keep up payments', and 'keep up a routine'. It sounds unnatural if the object is a concrete physical thing, like a piece of furniture.
Is 'keep it up' always used as encouragement?
Very often, yes — 'keep it up' is most commonly used to motivate someone who is doing well. However, it can occasionally be used in a more neutral or even negative way, for example to describe someone stubbornly continuing a bad habit. Context will make the meaning clear.
Can 'keep up' be used in the passive?
It is grammatically possible, but in natural English it is almost never used this way for this meaning. Instead, speakers strongly prefer the active form: 'keep it up' or 'keep up the work' rather than any passive construction.
Does 'keep up' always mean the same thing?
No — 'keep up' has more than one meaning in English. This entry focuses on making something continue at a certain level. A separate meaning is preventing someone from sleeping, for example 'the noise kept me up all night'. A third meaning, 'keep up with', refers to matching someone's pace or staying informed, but that is a different phrasal verb.
What is the difference between 'keep up the good work' and 'keep it up'?
'Keep up the good work' is a slightly fuller, more formal expression of praise, often used in writing such as emails or feedback. 'Keep it up' is shorter and more casual, and works well in spoken English. Both mean the same thing and are perfectly natural in most situations.
Can the subject be a person, or does it have to be a thing like noise?
It can be a person. For example, 'My roommate kept me up with his loud phone calls' is perfectly natural. However, the cause of the sleep disruption is always the subject, whether that is a person, a noise, a feeling like worry, or even bad dreams.
Can I use 'keep up' in the passive, like 'I was kept up by the noise'?
It is grammatically possible, but native speakers almost never say it this way. It sounds very unnatural. The active form is strongly preferred: 'The noise kept me up' rather than 'I was kept up by the noise'.
Does 'keep up' always mean preventing someone from sleeping?
No — 'keep up' has other meanings too, such as maintaining a pace or continuing an activity. However, the context usually makes the sleep sense very clear: if a person is the object sitting between 'keep' and 'up', and the subject is something like noise or worry, it is almost certainly about sleep.
Can I say 'it's been keeping me up' in the present perfect continuous?
This sounds a bit awkward with this particular sense. The present perfect without the continuous — 'it has kept me up every night this week' — sounds much more natural. Stick to the simple past or standard present perfect for the best results.
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