catch up

catch up phrasal verb (see also catch)
1. to improve and reach the same standard as other people in your class, group etc:
   • If you miss a lot of classes, it’s very difficult to catch up.
  catch up with
   • At the moment our technology is more advanced, but other countries are catching up with us.
2. to come from behind and reach someone in front of you by going faster
  catch up with
   • Drive faster – they’re catching up with us.
  catch somebody up British English:
   • You go on ahead. I’ll catch you up in a minute.
3. to do what needs to be done because you have not been able to do it until now
  catch up on
   • I have some work to catch up on.
   • I need to catch up on some sleep (=after a period without enough sleep).
4. to spend time finding out what has been happening while you have been away or during the time you have not seen someone
  catch up on
   • When I got home I phoned Jo to catch up on all the gossip.
   • I’ll leave you two alone – I’m sure you’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
5. be/get caught up in something to be or get involved in something, especially something bad:
   • I didn’t want to get caught up in endless petty arguments.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

catch somebody up

ˌcatch ˈup (with sb)derived

(BrE also ˌcatch sb ˈup)

1. to reach sb who is ahead by going faster

• Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you.

• I'll catch you up.

2. to reach the same level or standard as sb who was better or more advanced

• After missing a term through illness he had to work hard to catch up with the others.

Main entry: catchderived

catch-up

ˈcatch-up7[catch-up] noun

1. uncountable the act of trying to reach the same level or standard as sb who is ahead of you

• It was a month of catch-up for them.

2. countable, singular an occasion when two or more people meet to discuss what has happened since the last time they met

• We must get together for a catch-up.

Idiom: play catch-up

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

catch up

catch up (DISCUSS) phrasal verb
to learn or discuss the latest news:
Let's go for a coffee - I need to catch up on all the gossip.

catch up (DO SOMETHING) phrasal verb
to do something you did not have time to do earlier:
She's staying late at the office to catch up with/on some reports.

catch up (REACH SAME STANDARD) phrasal verb
to reach the same quality or standard as someone or something else:
Will Western industry ever catch up with Japanese innovations?
He was off school for a while and is finding it hard to catch up.

catch (sb) up

catch (sb) up (REACH SOMEONE) phrasal verb
to reach someone in front of you by going faster than them:
I ran after her and managed to catch up with her.
UK Go on to the shops without me, I'll catch you up.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

catch up

1) PHRASAL VERB If you catch up with someone who is in front of you, you reach them by walking faster than they are walking.
  [V P] I stopped and waited for her to catch up...
  [V P with n] We caught up with the nuns.
2) PHRASAL VERB To catch up with someone means to reach the same standard, stage, or level that they have reached.
  [V P with n] Most late developers will catch up with their friends...
  [V P] John began the season better than me but I have fought to catch up...
  [V P on/in n] During the evenings, the school is used by kids who want to catch up on English and mathematics.
3) PHRASAL VERB If you catch up on an activity that you have not had much time to do recently, you spend time doing it.
  [V P on/with n] I was catching up on a bit of reading.
4) PHRASAL VERB If you catch up on friends who you have not seen for some time or on their lives, you talk to them and find out what has happened in their lives since you last talked together.
  [V P on n] The ladies spent some time catching up on each other's health and families...
  [V P with n] She plans to return to Dublin to catch up with the relatives she has not seen since she married.
5) PHR-V-PASSIVE If you are caught up in something, you are involved in it, usually unwillingly.
  [be V-ed P in n] The people themselves weren't part of the conflict; they were just caught up in it...
  [get V-ed P in n] Many African women, for reasons of poverty, get caught up in the drug trade. [Also be/get V-ed P]
  Syn:
  involved