keep up with

verb

"keep-up-with" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“keep up with” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one.

Corpus desk

Index EN-keep-up-with · keep up with · English

keep up with · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for keep up with
PropertyValue
Headwordkeep up with
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “keep up with” in English

keep up withsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

keep up with is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for keep up with in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is keep up with, spelled K-E-E-P- -U-P- -W-I-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one.
  2. 2
    To manage to remain up to date with trends, fashions, etc.
  3. 3
    To manage to follow an argument, a discussion, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how keep up with appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Blake needed to run to keep up with the indignant Doctor.
  2. Keeping up with the latest hair trends as ever, Wella has just introduced Hair Sets in three variants.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "keep up with"?
"keep up with" is spelled K-E-E-P- -U-P- -W-I-T-H.
What does "keep up with" mean?
As a verb, "keep up with" means: To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one.
What language does "keep up with" come from?
"keep up with" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list