Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

keep up with the joneses

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.36 in modern English

Syllables: keep- up with- the jone-ses
IPA

44

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

4

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To act or make purchases for status or image rather than out of need, especially for the purpose of competing with friends, neighbors, or society.

Example Sentences

"Do you really need a fancy new car or are you just trying to keep up with the Joneses?"
"One of the greatest pitfalls in the path of any young couple is the feeling that they must "keep up with the Joneses." We all think of ourselves as belonging to a certain social group—whether we express it in snobbish terms or not."
"Nor is it good for the name of the railway industry that skilled men should have to put in so much overtime to keep up financially with the Joneses in other walks of life."

Etymology

Various theories; see Wikipedia article.

Inflected Forms

keeps up with the Joneses (present, singular) keeping up with the Joneses (participle, present) kept up with the Joneses (participle, past) kept up with the Joneses (past)

Phrases

conspicuous consumption peer pressure status symbol

Frequently Paired Words

conspicuous consumption peer pressure status symbol

Questions

What does keep up with the joneses mean?: To act or make purchases for status or image rather than out of need, especially for the purpose of competing with friends, neighbors, or society.
Where does keep up with the joneses come from?: Various theories; see Wikipedia article.

How to pronounce keep up with the joneses

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “keep up with the joneses”.
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 “keep up with the joneses”.
Repeat and practice — Say “keep up with the joneses” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.