# keep up at

CEFR B2 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/keep-up-at
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

to continue doing something difficult or to stay at a high level of performance.

For teachers: to maintain a consistent pace, effort, or standard in a specific activity; often implies persistence in the face of fatigue or difficulty.

## Examples

- You are doing great work, so please keep up at it.
- If you keep up at your piano practice every day, you will see huge improvements by summer.
- Despite the grueling schedule and the lack of immediate results, the researchers decided to keep up at their experiments until they found a breakthrough.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He keeps up at to run." but "He keeps up at running." — the preposition 'at' must be followed by a noun or a gerund (-ing form), not an infinitive.

## Usage notes

- usually followed by 'it' or a specific activity; implies a steady, ongoing effort.
- Teaching tip: contrast with 'keep up with' (matching someone else's speed); 'keep up at' focuses on the speaker's own persistence in a task.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.