upward
Americanadverb
-
toward a higher place or position.
The birds flew upward.
-
toward a higher or more distinguished condition, rank, level, etc..
His employer wishes to move him upward in the company.
-
to a greater degree; more.
fourscore and upward.
-
toward a large city, the source or origin of a stream, or the interior of a country or region.
They followed the Thames River upward from the North Sea to London.
-
in the upper parts; above.
adjective
idioms
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of upward
before 900; Middle English; Old English upweard (cognate with Dutch opwaart ). See up-, -ward
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Upward of 6,000 Malawians were also gathered this month in a Durban park, waiting their turn to board buses that their embassy procured to take them home.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026
Upward revisions to both paired with an unchanged rate path “imply a dovish reaction function,” noted Citi economists.
From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026
Upward forces from the ocean water could "lift" the thinning ice essentially all at once, they argue - causing icebergs to break off and the glacier to retreat in quick time.
From BBC • Nov. 3, 2025
Upward pressure on inflation and pressure to finance the U.S. deficit should result in the market “clearing with higher yields over time.”
From MarketWatch • Oct. 17, 2025
Upward he bounded, up, two bounds, three, hardly slowing, until he was among the lower limbs.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
