stack up

verb

stacked up; stacking up; stacks up

intransitive verb

1

: to add up

Cars were beginning to stack up behind the bus.

2

: to be in a particular state or situation

Here's how things stack up today.

3

: measure up, compare

—usually used with against

How does he stack up against the other job candidates?

Synonyms of stack up

• compare (with)
• measure up (to)

Examples of stack up in a Sentence

those newspapers have been stacking up in the basement since we moved here

Recent Examples on the Web

That doesn’t stack up either because Wade and James never reached a settlement. —Marlow Stern, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026

But Lombard’s fees stacked up to nearly $500. —Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026

But Lombard’s fees stacked up to nearly $500. —Ginny Monk, ProPublica, 27 Apr. 2026

Next year's quarterback class figures to stack up quite nicely, with Arch Manning seemingly leading the pack. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stack up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

stack up

verb

: measure up sense 2, compare

see how you stack up against the champion