stay up

not go to bed at your usual time

What does "stay up" mean?

To stay up means to go to bed later than you normally would, or to not go to bed at all during a night. It describes a choice to remain awake — for example, to watch a film, study for an exam, or wait for someone to come home. The key idea is that you never go to sleep in the first place; you simply keep going beyond your usual bedtime. It is a very common, everyday expression used by people of all ages, and it works equally well in British and American English. You will often hear it with a time expression like 'until midnight' or with an activity like 'watching TV' to explain why someone is awake so late.

Examples

We stayed up until 2 a.m. watching the World Cup final.
I try not to stay up too late on weeknights because I'm always tired the next day.
Are you going to stay up for the New Year's countdown, or are you heading to bed early?

How to use it

stay up + time expression

Use this pattern to say how late someone remained awake, with a time or duration after 'up'.

My parents stayed up until 1 a.m. waiting for me to get home.

stay up + -ing

Use a gerund (-ing verb) after 'stay up' to explain the activity that kept someone awake.

She stayed up all night studying for her history exam.

stay up + to-infinitive

Use 'to' + base verb to express the purpose or reason for staying awake.

We stayed up to watch the final episode of the series.

stay up late

'Stay up late' is an extremely common fixed-sounding phrase used to describe the general habit or act of going to bed much later than usual.

He always stays up late on Friday nights because he doesn't have work the next day.

stay up for + event/occasion

Use 'for' followed by an event when that event is the reason for not going to bed.

Are you going to stay up for the New Year's countdown?

Common Collocations

stay up latestay up all nightstay up until midnightstay up watching TVstay up studyingstay up for the game

Common Mistakes

Confusing 'stay up' with 'wake up'

'Stay up' means you never went to sleep at all; 'wake up' means you were already asleep and then stopped sleeping. Use 'stay up' only when talking about not going to bed in the first place.

✗ I stayed up at 3 a.m. when I heard a strange noise.

✓ I woke up at 3 a.m. when I heard a strange noise.

Using 'stay up' with an object

'Stay up' has no object — it always describes what the person themselves does. If an outside thing or person causes someone to be awake, use 'keep up' instead.

✗ The loud music stayed me up all night.

✓ The loud music kept me up all night. / I stayed up all night because of the loud music.

Using 'stay up' to describe objects

'Stay up' can also describe a physical object that remains standing or in position (e.g. a tent or a shelf), so make sure your sentence is clearly about a person remaining awake, not about something staying upright.

✗ The tent finally stayed up all night. (if you mean 'I remained awake')

✓ I stayed up all night. / The tent finally stayed up. (only if you mean it didn't fall down)

Usage

This phrasal verb is neutral and equally natural in British and American English. It is very commonly followed by a time phrase or a gerund (-ing form) showing the activity: 'stay up late', 'stay up watching a film'.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does 'stay up' have to be a choice? What if I just couldn't sleep?

Not always — 'stay up' most often describes a deliberate decision, but it can also describe a situation where you simply didn't sleep, even if it wasn't fully voluntary. For example, 'I stayed up worrying about the exam' works even if you didn't want to be awake. However, if something external prevented your sleep, 'keep up' is more natural: 'the noise kept me up all night.'

Can I use 'stay up' to talk about a regular habit?

Yes, absolutely. The present simple is perfect for habits: 'I always stay up late on weekends' or 'She never stays up past ten o'clock.' You can also use it with 'tend to' or 'usually' to describe repeated behaviour.

Does 'stay up' mean the same thing in British and American English?

Yes, it means exactly the same thing in both varieties and is equally common in both. There is no difference in meaning or usage between British and American English for this phrasal verb.

Is there a difference between 'stay up late' and 'stay up all night'?

'Stay up late' simply means going to bed much later than usual, but you do eventually sleep. 'Stay up all night' means you did not sleep at all — you were awake for the entire night. Both are very common collocations.

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