Abreast means “beside.”
- In the parade, the soldiers marched five abreast.
The phrase keep abreast of therefore means to stay even or level with, or not to fall behind, either physically or figuratively.
- Geri was happy to keep abreast of the front runners in the 10K race.
- By working very long hours at her business, Tanya managed to keep abreast of (or level with) her competitors.
To keep abreast of also means to remain aware of, or to maintain one’s knowledge of (news or developments).
- Jackson kept abreast of world news by reading several newspapers each day.
Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Search by related themes
Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.
Related links
- Writing Tips Plus (home page)
- Writing tools
- Language Navigator (for fast access to language tips)
- TERMIUM Plus®