From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishkeep up phrasal verb1 keep something ↔ upCONTINUE/NOT STOP to continue doing something I don’t think I can keep this up any longer.keep up the good work! (=continue to work hard and well)2 if a situation keeps up, it continues without stopping or changing SYN continue How long can the economic boom keep up?3 FAST/QUICKto go as quickly as someone else with I had to walk fast to keep up with him.4 to manage to do as much or as well as other people OPP fall behind with Jack’s having trouble keeping up with the rest of the class.keep up with the Joneses (=try to have the same new impressive possessions that other people have)5 LEARNto continue to read and learn about a particular subject, so that you always know about the most recent facts, products etc with Employees need to keep up with the latest technical developments. 6 keep something ↔ up to make something continue at its present level or amount, instead of letting it decrease NATO kept up the pressure on the Serbs to get out of Kosovo.7 UPif one process keeps up with another, it increases at the same speed and by the same amount with Food production is not keeping up with population growth.8 keep something ↔ up to continue to practise a skill so that you do not lose it I used to speak French, but I haven’t kept it up.9 keep somebody up informalSLEEP to prevent someone from going to bed I hope I’m not keeping you up.10 keep your spirits/strength/morale etc upCONTINUE/NOT STOP to stay happy, strong, confident etc by making an effort We sang as we marched, to keep our spirits up.11 keep up appearancesPRETEND to pretend that everything in your life is normal and happy even though you are in trouble, especially financial trouble → keep→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
keep up• You're doing a good job, boys. Keep it up.• Maggie had a stone in her shoe and was finding it hard to keep up.• She covers so much in these lectures -- I don't know how you manage to keep up.• Scott kept up a constant barrage of calls and faxes until he got the answers he wanted.• The enemy kept up the attack all through the night.• Environmental groups intend to keep up the pressure until the government changes the law.• She and Laura keep up their friendship through frequent telephone calls and lunch dates.• She had difficulty keeping up with J.D.'s long, quick strides.• It's a complicated film, and some people may find it hard to keep up with the plot.• Slow down! I can't keep up with you.keep with• Central bankers are concerned because savings have not kept up with borrowing, and spending has outpaced economic growth.• The flapper had to be a good consumer, keeping up with fashion and buying the latest in beauty products.• Edie was finding it hard to keep up with her rent payments.• How is Jody? I haven't kept up with her since college.• Unless a parent can keep up with its children, its fate is sealed.• Janir struggled to keep up with the bigger kids.• Every day, until we could not keep up with the demand, we would make a few extra loaves to sell.• Carlton does well to keep up with the drop.• I'm having trouble keeping up with the rest of the class.• He puffed and panted behind the others, gritting his teeth with the effort of trying to keep up with them.• Time magazine was another way of keeping up with Western life.• He was not so ill, however, that he was unable to keep up with what was going on.keep up with the Joneses• The adverts scold us and cajole us and wheedle us and fawn us to keep up with the Joneses.• We want something better than just money and keeping up with the Joneses.keep with• Central bankers are concerned because savings have not kept up with borrowing, and spending has outpaced economic growth.• The flapper had to be a good consumer, keeping up with fashion and buying the latest in beauty products.• Unless a parent can keep up with its children, its fate is sealed.• Every day, until we could not keep up with the demand, we would make a few extra loaves to sell.• Carlton does well to keep up with the drop.• He puffed and panted behind the others, gritting his teeth with the effort of trying to keep up with them.• Time magazine was another way of keeping up with Western life.• He was not so ill, however, that he was unable to keep up with what was going on.keep with• Central bankers are concerned because savings have not kept up with borrowing, and spending has outpaced economic growth.• The flapper had to be a good consumer, keeping up with fashion and buying the latest in beauty products.• Unless a parent can keep up with its children, its fate is sealed.• Every day, until we could not keep up with the demand, we would make a few extra loaves to sell.• Carlton does well to keep up with the drop.• He puffed and panted behind the others, gritting his teeth with the effort of trying to keep up with them.• Time magazine was another way of keeping up with Western life.• He was not so ill, however, that he was unable to keep up with what was going on.keep somebody up• I'm often kept up by the noise of laughter and music from next door.• Arnold would keep us all up with his long, rambling stories.keep your spirits/strength/morale etc up• He had a strong sense of humour, and kept his spirits up.• I had to keep my strength up.• She ate a little to keep her strength up.• During the war years, it helped keep our spirits up and we need it again now.• Crusty Bill boasts he's on a spicy vegetarian diet to keep his strength up for love.• I told Tansy that she must keep her spirits up, that Rose might be needing her.keep up appearances• Sometimes a mood, or a phase of the menstrual cycle, will bring about a definite aversion to keeping up appearances.• They spend all they have to keep up appearances.• He still took care to be rude and truculent at school to keep up appearances, but the old venom had faded.• All my efforts were concentrated on keeping up appearances during those two hours of the day when I was with them.• She just wanted to keep up appearances for the kids.• A travel iron is useful for keeping up appearances on holiday.• Man on the move Everything a man need to keep up appearances while he's away from home.• We all have to keep up appearances while we wait for the tide to turn.From Longman Business Dictionarykeep up phrasal verb1[transitive] keep something → up to prevent something from falling to a lower level withThe high demand for cereals was responsible for keeping agricultural wages up with prices.2[transitive] keep something → up to continue to make payments such as rent etc on timeYour home is at risk if you do notkeep up repayments on a mortgage.3[intransitive] to achieve the same rate of progress as other people, organizations etc, so that they do not have an advantage over youSome firms have used technical agreements with foreign enterprises to keep up technologically. withWe have to move fast to keep up with our competitors. → keep→ See Verb table 