Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

catch up

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.86 in modern English

Syllables: catch up
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To pick up suddenly.

Transitive verb

verb

To entangle (something).

Transitive verb

verb

To involve in (something); to embroil.

Transitive verb

verb

To be brought up to date with news.

Intransitive verb

verb

To bring (someone) up to date with the news.

Transitive verb

verb

To reach something that had been ahead.

verb

To compensate for or make up a deficiency.

Intransitive verb

verb

To finally overtake (someone or something) after a long period of approaching (them or it).

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"Oscar stopped the horses and waved to Carl, who caught up his hat and ran through the melon patch to join them."
"The speaker wires have got caught up with the wires from the lights."
"That's why she got caught up in addiction."
"I hadn't seen her for so long. It was great to catch up."
"After Alice's vacation, her boss caught her up on policy changes."
"I have to miss the end of the meeting, but you can catch me up later."

Usage

Inflected Forms

catches up (present, singular) catching up (participle, present) caught up (participle, past) caught up (past) catch-up (alternative) catch ups (plural)

Phrases

play catch-up

Frequently Paired Words

play catch-up

Questions

What does catch up mean?: To pick up suddenly.

How to pronounce catch up

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “catch up”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “catch up”.
Repeat and practice — Say “catch up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.