to stack up against
7
4.1
- phrasal verb
:
compararse con
- How does flying the F-35 Lightning II stack up against older-model fighter jets?
- stack up against others
- see how you stack up against
- stack up against competitors
Now, how about how student debt stacks up against other forms of debt?
- Now, how about how student debt stacks up against other forms of debt?
- The closest we can do right now is stack it up against the other flagship devices that exist.
- And so, you know, from a sort of nutritional standpoint, how do these meat alternatives stack up against your traditional meat?
- I just didn't know am I going to stack up against these people and being really scared.
Examples
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How do film makers stack up against that challenge or responsibility?
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And so, you know, from a sort of nutritional standpoint, how do these meat alternatives stack up against your traditional meat?
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How do I stack up against Phil?
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I'd like to see how they stack up against this one.
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The answer might lie in how they stack up against their competitors online.
Blog text (15) -
How do our costs stack up against these competitors?
Academic text (1990) -
We want to know how we stack up against the cosmos.
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Can you tell us about that race and how it stacks up against its European counterparts?
Blog text (18) -
I wonder how US players stack up against other nationalities in an objective test like that.
Blog text (7) -
I want to see how this smartphone stacks up against the competition in terms of features and price.
Synonyms
39
3.7
To be as good as expected or needed
17
3.8
To be good enough to meet a standard or expectation
How Well
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses a clear spatial/comparative image—physically 'stacking' things 'up' and placing them 'against' each other—so a learner can partially infer a sense of comparison or measuring. However, the idiomatic use as a phrasal verb meaning 'to compare or measure up against' is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the parts, so a B1 learner who knows the words may still need exposure to confirm the exact sense.
Etymology
Stack up against comes from the simple picture of putting one stack next to another to see which is higher or stronger. That's why it means 'to compare with' or 'to see if someone or something measures up'.