English · Idiom Historical

to keep up

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

To continue, as, "to keep up a discussion'*; to maintain, as, "to keep up one's courage," "to keep up appearances"; to continue part passu, as "Keep up with the rest.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Examples

It is difficult to keep up a conversation with someone who only says "yes" and "no".Rất là khó để nói chuyện với một người luôn luôn trả lời "Có" hay "Không".

It's so hard to keep up with teenage clothing fashions these days because they change so often.Gần đây thật khó theo kịp thời trang ăn mặc của thanh thiếu niên bởi vì chúng thay đổi quá thường xuyên.

Tatoeba sentence #1589 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to keep up” mean?

To continue, as, "to keep up a discussion'*; to maintain, as, "to keep up one's courage," "to keep up appearances"; to continue part passu, as "Keep up with the rest.

Is “to keep up” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.