KEEP UP

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does keep up mean? 

• KEEP UP (verb)
  The verb KEEP UP has 5 senses:

1. maintain a required pace or level

2. lengthen or extend in duration or space

3. keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction

4. keep informed

5. prevent from going to bed at night

  Familiarity information: KEEP UP used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KEEP UP (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Maintain a required pace or level

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Context example:

He could not keep up and dropped out of the race

"Keep up" entails doing...:

compete; contend; vie (compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "keep up"):

keep pace; keep step (maintain the same pace)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lengthen or extend in duration or space

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

keep up; prolong; sustain

Context example:

keep up the good work

Hypernyms (to "keep up" is one way to...):

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "keep up"):

continue; keep; keep on; retain (allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

conserve; keep up; maintain; preserve

Context example:

The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts

Hypernyms (to "keep up" is one way to...):

keep (look after; be the keeper of; have charge of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "keep up"):

embalm (preserve a dead body)

plastinate (preserve (tissue) with plastics, as for teaching and research purposes)

hold the line (hold the line on prices; keep the price of something constant)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Keep informed

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

follow; keep abreast; keep up

Context example:

He kept up on his country's foreign policies

Verb group:

follow; trace (follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Prevent from going to bed at night

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

I kept myself up all night studying for the exam

Cause:

sit up; stay up (not go to bed)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

 Context examples 

But he has a struggle to keep up his position.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“You must keep up your spirits,” said Mr. Dick, “and make yourself as comfortable as possible.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

This won’t be a sleepy, quiet month, but quite a busy one, so you’ll have to be organized to keep up with fast-moving events.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I had done my part, and now my next duty was to keep up my strength.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

In response, the reef migrated seaward to try to keep up with these significant drops in sea level.

(Major study reveals Great Barrier Reef’s 30,000-year fight for survival, University of Granada)

“Pray, lie down there and make yourself absolutely at home. Tell us what you can, but stop when you are tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If your body can't keep up with the need for insulin, you may need to take pills.

(Diabetes Medicines, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

I tell you, but Silver was anxious to keep up with us.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

To speak truth, sir, I don't understand you at all: I cannot keep up the conversation, because it has got out of my depth.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Keep up your heart, little daughter, and we will soon have you home again.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)