upward

American  

[uhp-werd] / ˈʌp wərd /

adverb

1. toward a higher place or position.

   The birds flew upward.

2. toward a higher or more distinguished condition, rank, level, etc..

   His employer wishes to move him upward in the company.

3. to a greater degree; more.

   fourscore and upward.

4. 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.

5. in the upper parts; above.

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adjective

1. moving or tending upward; directed at or situated in a higher place or position.

idioms

1. upwards of,  more than; above.

   My vacation cost me upwards of a thousand dollars.

upward British  

/ ˈʌpwəd /

adjective

1. directed or moving towards a higher point or level

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adverb

1. a variant of upwards

Other Word Forms

• upwardly adverb
• upwardness noun

Etymology

Origin of upward

before 900; Middle English; Old English upweard (cognate with Dutch opwaart ). See up-, -ward

Example Sentences

These days, the game’s elite passers command contracts worth upward of $50 million annually and eat up giant chunks of the salary cap.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now some of those economists are revising their global growth predictions upward.

From The Wall Street Journal

There were also upward revisions for July and August.

From The Wall Street Journal

By the time firefighters arrived about 10 minutes later, the tower was ablaze, the flames traveling upward through the bamboo scaffolding and netting—and soon jumping to other buildings in the complex.

From The Wall Street Journal

Inflation has been persistent in Japan, with a weak yen posing a renewed risk of upward pressure on import prices.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• higher
• skyward
• uphill