phrasal verb · neutral
keep up
UK/kiːp ʌp/US/kip ʌp/KEEP up
speakingtask2
to maintain something at the same level or rate
Examples
“She exercises regularly to keep up her fitness.”
“It's hard to keep up standards when funding is cut.”
“I work late sometimes to keep up with the workload.”
Band 8 sentence
“Given the increased workload, we had to implement new systems to keep up productivity without sacrificing quality.”
Collocations
- keep up standards
- keep up momentum
Word family
keep up verbkeeping up verb (gerund)keeps up / kept up verb (3rd person / past)
Common mistakes
I keep my fitness.→I keep up my fitness.
He keep up standards.→He keeps up standards.
Say it for a higher band
5hold→6keep→7+keep up
Synonyms
maintain
sustain
Easily confused
maintain
“The company needs to maintain profitability despite market pressure.”
Related words
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