stack up

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stack up (third-person singular simple present stacks up, present participle stacking up, simple past and past participle stacked up)

1. (transitive) To put into a stack.

   Stack up the boxes.

2. (intransitive) to pile up; to accumulate.
3. (idiomatic, transitive) To put a group of abstract things together.

   to stack up memories

4. Often followed by against or among: to compare with (something); to measure up.
   • 1939, Milwaukee Journal, issue of 7th September, page 3:

     "How Populations Stack Up Among Nations At War" (name of the article)

   • 1973, The Paper Chase, 01:17:10

     This is a great outline. Fantastic. If yours doesn't stack up, you won't get a chance to look at it.

   • 2018 June 18, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport‎, archived from the original on 21 April 2019:

     [Raheem] Sterling's attitude and ability is never in doubt, never ducking a challenge or dropping his intensity, but the numbers are simply not stacking up at England level.

   • 2021 February 24, Richard Clinnick, “Decarbonisation key to retaining financial support”, in RAIL, number 925, page 18:

     Meaney said the rail industry needs to be honest with itself when discussing major investment projects, and to ask if the business case stacks up.

• (put into a stack): heap up, pile up, stack; see also Thesaurus:pile up
• (accumulate): accrue, add up; see also Thesaurus:accumulate

• tack-ups, tacks up, upstack