To reach the same level or position as someone ahead of you; to update someone (or yourself) on missed information.
To reach the same place or level as someone else after being behind, or to tell someone what they missed.
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To reach the same level, position, or standard as someone or something that was ahead of you.
"She missed two weeks of school but worked hard to catch up with the rest of the class."
We will catch up and overtake them in science and technology.
— Nikita Khrushchev, speech to the Supreme Soviet, 1957
To do something you have missed or fallen behind on.
"I spent the weekend catching up on emails I'd ignored all week."
To meet someone again and share news after not seeing each other for a while.
"We must catch up properly over dinner — it's been months!"
To (eventually) have negative consequences reach someone who has been escaping them.
"Years of poor diet and no exercise finally caught up with him when he had a health scare."
To catch (seize) someone who is 'up' ahead of you — to reach their position.
To reach the same place or level as someone else after being behind, or to tell someone what they missed.
'Catch up with' or 'catch up on' are the most common patterns. 'Let's catch up' is a very frequent social expression meaning to talk and share news after a period of absence. 'Catch up on sleep/work/news' means to do what you missed.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "catch up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Swap in when you want variety — tap a linked one to explore it.
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.