catch up with
phrasal verbcatch up (with somebody)
(British English also catch somebody up)
- to reach somebody who is ahead by going faster
- Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you.
- I'll catch you up.
- to reach the same level or standard as somebody who was better or more advanced
- After missing a term through illness, he had to work hard to catch up with the others.
catch up with somebody
- to finally start to cause problems for somebody after they have managed to avoid this for some time
- She was terrified that one day her past problems would catch up with her.
- if the police or authorities catch up with somebody, they find and punish them after some time
- The law caught up with him years later when he had moved to Spain.