Catch up meaning
Catch up means to go faster to reach someone who is in front of you. It can also mean to do work or sleep that you did not have time for earlier.
catch up
catch up · caught · catching
Walk on ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.
Catch up meanings and examples
4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary.
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1
Go faster to reach someone who is in front of you
catch up
- Walk on ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.
- She ran fast and soon caught up with the others.
- Slow down! I can’t catch up.
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2
Do work or sleep that you did not have time for earlier
catch up
- I was ill last week, so I need to catch up on my homework.
- Weekends are for catching up on sleep.
- Have you caught up on the new series yet?
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3
Meet or talk to someone to hear their news
catch up
- Let’s get a coffee and catch up soon.
- We spent the whole evening catching up.
- I haven’t caught up with Lina since the wedding.
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4
Reach the same level as someone who was better
catch up
- Other phone makers are trying to catch up.
- He missed a term, but he soon caught up with the class.
- Our town has a lot of catching up to do.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use catch up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is catch up separable?
Catch up usually has no object. To name the person, use with: catch up with Tom. To name the work or news, use on: catch up on emails.
In UK English you can also say catch someone up, with the person in the middle: Go on, I’ll catch you up. A catch-up, with a hyphen, is a meeting to share news.
Verb tenses for catch up
| Present | I catch up · she catches up |
|---|---|
| Past | caught up |
| Present perfect | have caught up |
| -ing form | catching up |
Common mistakes with catch up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: I need to catch up my emails.
Right: I need to catch up on my emails.
Use on before the work you missed.
Wrong: I’ll catch up to you later for coffee.
Right: I’ll catch up with you later for coffee.
For news and chats, say catch up with someone.
Wrong: I have to catch up the lost time.
Right: I have to make up for the lost time.
For lost time, the phrase is make up for.
Synonyms and opposites of catch up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- keep upstay at the same level; catch up means reach it after falling behind
- make up fordo something good to balance lost time or a mistake
- get up to speedlearn what you missed, often at work
Opposite
- fall behindbecome slower or later than others
- lag behindmove or develop more slowly than others
Catch up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1I missed two lessons, so I have to ___ on the reading.
Catch up on work means do the work you missed.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Use catch up with before the people.
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3A friend texts: “Coffee next week? Would love a catch-up.” What does she want?
A catch-up is a meeting to hear each other’s news.
More phrasal verbs with catch
2 phrasal verbs start with catch. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Catch up FAQ
Questions people ask about catch up.
What does let’s catch up mean?
It means let’s meet or call and tell each other our news. Friends and colleagues say it a lot.
What is the difference between catch up with and keep up with?
You catch up with someone when you were behind and reach them. You keep up with someone when you stay at their speed.
Catch up on or catch up with?
On + thing: catch up on sleep, catch up on the news. With + person: catch up with an old friend.
Use catch up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.