Match up or matchup?
match up is a noun meaning “Alternative spelling of matchup”; matchup is a noun meaning “A pairing of two things, people or teams, especially for a competition”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. match up is written as two words and matchup as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between match up and matchup?
| match up | matchup | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Meaning | To be similar or the same To put together, or in a pair | A pairing of two things, people or teams, especially for a competition |
| Example | Unfortunately, none of the numbers on my lottery ticket matched up with the ones drawn | none recorded |
| Forms | match-ups | matchups |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈmæt͡ʃʌp/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 2.5 times per million words |
Sources: match up and matchup in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of match up and matchup
match up
- 1
Alternative spelling of matchup
- 2
To be similar or the same
Unfortunately, none of the numbers on my lottery ticket matched up with the ones drawn
- 3
To put together, or in a pair
After matching up all the socks in the draw, I threw away those without a pair
- 4
To matchmake; to set up a romantic meeting between two people
She thought James asked her on a date because he was interested in her, but it turned out he wanted to match her up with his brother
matchup
- 1
A pairing of two things, people or teams, especially for a competition
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, match up or matchup?
match up is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; matchup 2.5 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).