catch up

present singular third person catches up · participle present catching up · participle past caught up · past caught up · alternative catch-up

1. transitiveTo pick up suddenly.

   Oscar stopped the horses and waved to Carl, who caught up his hat and ran through the melon patch to join them.

   1913, Willa Cather, O Pioneers!, chapter 3

   1 more example

   Musing on the water-god's sad instructions, the sage went homeward with bowed head in deep dejection. He caught up his little son in his arms and wept aloud.

   1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page 201

2. transitivechiefly passive voiceTo entangle (something).

   The speaker wires have got caught up with the wires from the lights.

3. broadlytransitivechiefly passive voiceTo involve in (something); to embroil.

   That's why she got caught up in addiction.

4. intransitiveTo be brought up to date with news.

   I hadn't seen her for so long. It was great to catch up.

5. transitiveTo bring (someone) up to date with the news.

   After Alice's vacation, her boss caught her up on policy changes.

   1 more example

   I have to miss the end of the meeting, but you can catch me up later.

6. ambitransitiveTo reach something that had been ahead.

   I'll go ahead and you can catch me up later.

   3 more examples

   Rose was three seconds behind, but managed to catch up with the race leader and eventually won.

   I'll go ahead and you can catch up with me later.

   But you run / And you run to catch up with the sun / But it's sinking

   1973 March 1, Roger Waters, “Time”, in The Dark Side of the Moon, performed by Pink Floyd

7. intransitiveTo compensate for or make up a deficiency.

   After a slow start, they've been catching up lately.

   1 more example

   The sales quarter ends soon and we've got to try to catch up.

8. intransitiveTo finally overtake or overpower (someone or something) after a long period of approaching or threatening (them or it). (Said especially of self-destructive behaviours that take years to bring about negative outcomes.)

   His years of drinking were catching up with him.

   3 more examples

   The company's creative accounting had finally caught up with it.

   You are reminded that old age is catching up with you each time you read in the newspaper that another athlete whom you idolized when you were young just passed away.

   2008, Bardas Benetbunk, Musings of One Thousand and One Nights of Solitude, page 61

   The episode begins with a lifetime of junk food, beer and no exercise catching up with Homer in the form of painful heart contractions.

   2012 June 17, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Homer’s Triple Bypass” (season 4, episode 11; originally aired 12/17/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club

plural catch ups · alternative catch-up

1. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative spelling of catch-up.