uphold
Americanverb (used with object)
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upholds,
present (3rd person singular)
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upheld,
past participle, past
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upholding
present participle
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to support or defend, as against opposition or criticism.
He fought the duel to uphold his family's honor.
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to keep up or keep from sinking; support.
Stout columns upheld the building's heavy roof. Her faith upheld her in that time of sadness.
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to lift upward; raise.
The pilgrims upheld their eyes and thanked heaven for their safe journey.
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British.
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to upholster.
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to maintain in good condition; take care of.
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verb
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to maintain, affirm, or defend against opposition or challenge
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to give moral support or inspiration to
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rare to support physically
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to lift up
Usage
What are other ways to say uphold? To uphold something means to support it or defend it against opposition or criticism. How is uphold different from maintain, support, and sustain? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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upholdsimple
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upholdssimple
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have upheldperfect
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has upheldperfect
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am upholdingprogressive
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are upholdingprogressive
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is upholdingprogressive
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have been upholdingperfect progressive
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has been upholdingperfect progressive
Past
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upheldsimple
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had upheldperfect
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was upholdingprogressive
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were upholdingprogressive
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had been upholdingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of uphold
First recorded in 1300–1350; Middle English upholden; see up-, hold 1
Explanation
When you uphold something, you stick up for or support it. Police officers are paid to uphold the law, and crazy Elvis fans uphold their belief that he's still alive out there somewhere. If you reverse the two parts of this word, you get hold up. And that's exactly what upholding is: holding up or supporting an idea or practice. You might uphold your dog's innocence, even though it's pretty obvious he dug up the neighbor's flower bed. When America fought for independence, we upheld the idea of fair representation. When you uphold something, you're taking a stand for it.
Vocabulary lists containing uphold
Beowulf vocabulary
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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Ghost Boys
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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.
See Examples For:
"Along with our vow to renounce war, I reaffirmed our determination to continue fulfilling our responsibility to uphold Japan's postwar path as a peaceful nation," he added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
In the late 1950s, the party accused him of failing to uphold Maoist orthodoxy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
They said patient safety remained the "highest priority" and that all staff were expected "to always uphold the highest standards of care and professionalism".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
At the same time, the federal judge in L.A. who presides over the agreement appears poised to appoint a powerful new enforcer to uphold it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The president swore to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States when he took office.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Ramstetter upholds the Finnish model in which students typically get 15 minutes of recess multiple times a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The decision upholds a turn-back policy that began in 2016 as an emergency response to a surge of Haitian immigrants at the San Ysidro border crossing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
UN Women, the UN organisation that upholds women's human rights, has called it a "global crisis", where prosecutions against the issue are rare and survivors are often re-traumatised when they do attempt to seek help.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Instead of blanket-dismissing tech entrepreneurs or wholesale manifesting a god in the machine, Pope Leo has sought a careful, studied, moral middle ground: one that encourages technological progress but upholds human dignity above all.
From Slate ● May 28, 2026
“Vegetables are good for you; your mother says so too. Have some more,” she insists, until Father intervenes and upholds my right to refuse a dish I don’t like.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
An appeals court last week upheld a district court order halting work on the ballroom but put its ruling on hold to allow for the administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
As a civil rights lawyer in Santa Barbara, he successfully argued a landmark California Supreme Court case, which upheld the right of adults unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption to live together as a family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Complaints regarding television and live streaming service adverts for the film were not upheld by the regulator, as Clearcast - which pre-approves TV and streaming ads - had applied a post-19:30 scheduling restriction.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Of those, judges have upheld four grand jury subpoenas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
After scrutinizing my client’s shoulders, which sloped down sharply, he nodded to the other officials and upheld the appeal.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
But it suffered a legal blow in June last year when the EU top court's adviser recommended upholding the fine in an opinion, describing Google's arguments as "ineffective".
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
But its most famous line—“Attention must be paid”—illuminates its greater significance as a drama upholding the importance of the individual, an idea enshrined in the Declaration of Independence itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
In a statement the health board said it was committed to upholding professional standards and had arrangements in place to provide safe care for patients.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
The father added there was "too much focus on cost savings, rather than upholding the principles of the system".
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
But upholding the Patel family’s reputation for high standards in zookeeping was not my concern in the case at hand.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
