AAAmerican Accent US

catch up

No object

This verb takes no object at all.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: catch UP. Saying “CATCH up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /tʃ/ of “catch” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “catch up” is said “ca-tchup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

2 meanings

  1. 1

    To reach the same level or position as someone ahead of you.

    • “Go on ahead — I'll catch up in a minute.”
    • “She missed two weeks and had a lot of work to catch up.”

    Similar: close the gap

  2. 2

    To exchange news with someone you have not seen for a while.

    • “Let's grab coffee sometime so we can catch up.”
    • “We caught up over lunch and it felt like no time had passed.”

    Similar: reconnect

Don’t confuse it with

catch onTo become popular or widely adopted.

Catch UP closes a gap. Catch ON means to become popular, or to finally understand.

The particle logic

up

Something is finished, raised, improved, or brought together.

Listen + practice

Hear “catch up” spoken naturally

Pick a sentence to record

Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

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More CATCH phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

catch up with

To reach someone who is ahead of you.

catch up on

To do work or rest that you are behind on.

catch on

To become popular or widely adopted.

catch out

To expose someone's mistake or lie.

catch up — meaning, examples & how to say it