stay up

/steɪ ʌp/◆phrasal verb

to remain awake

She decided to stay up late to finish her project.

She chose not to sleep and worked until early morning.

informal

to remain awake, especially later than usual

We stayed up all night watching movies.

We didn't sleep and watched movies continuously.

The baby stayed up past midnight.

The baby was awake longer than usual.

Often used to describe staying awake longer than one's usual bedtime.

informal

to keep something upright or in position

Stay up the tent poles so they don't fall.

Keep the tent poles standing.

Less common usage, typically in physical contexts.

Collocations

stay up lateto remain awake until late at nightstay up all nightto remain awake throughout the night

to remain awake in order to do something

to remain awake until late at night

This phrase is often used to describe staying awake longer than usual, especially for social or work-related activities.

The meaning can vary slightly depending on whether it's used for people or objects.

From 'stay' (remain) + 'up' (in an upright position), combining to mean remaining awake.

Most commonly used to describe staying awake longer than usual, often for social or work-related reasons.

stay

to remain in a particular state or place

root

in an upright position or awake

adverb

English Dictionary