higher-up

American  

[hahy-er-uhp] / ˈhaɪ ərˈʌp /

noun

Informal.

1. a person in a position of higher authority in an organization; superior.

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higher-up British  

noun

1. informal a person of higher rank or in a superior position

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Etymology

Origin of higher-up

1910–15, noun use of adj. phrase higher up

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

higher-up

As soon as he started at his current job, his manager told him to “always assume I have your back,” a statement he had never heard before from a higher-up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

But he said the man insisted Dunlap see the “bossman” and left him in the glass room for about five minutes as he went to get a higher-up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

“This alleged incident didn’t come up,” an unnamed higher-up in the transition team told Vanity Fair.

From Salon ● Nov. 15, 2024

"Another participant exhibited more symmetric use but also compensated with their less-affected side slightly more often for higher-up points that were close to the mid-line."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2023

After a commercial for gum and another for laundry soap, MacGyver comes back on and makes a plan with all the villagers to defeat the higher-up bad guys.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau