upload

American  

[uhp-lohd] / ˈʌpˌloʊd /

verb (used with object)

• uploads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• uploaded,
  past participle,  past
• uploading
  present participle

1. to transfer (software, data, character sets, etc.) from a smaller to a larger computer.

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noun

• uploads
  plural

1. software, data, etc., that has been uploaded.

2. the act or process of uploading.

upload British  

/ ʌpˈləʊd /

verb

1. (tr) to copy or transfer (data or a program) from one's own computer into the memory of another computer Compare download

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upload Scientific  

/ ŭp′lōd′ /

1. To transfer data or programs from one's own computer or digital device to a server or host computer.

2. Compare download

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• uploads
  plural

Participles

• uploading
  present
• uploaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• upload
  simple
• uploads
  simple
• have uploaded
  perfect
• has uploaded
  perfect
• am uploading
  progressive
• are uploading
  progressive
• is uploading
  progressive
• have been uploading
  perfect progressive
• has been uploading
  perfect progressive

Past

• uploaded
  simple
• had uploaded
  perfect
• was uploading
  progressive
• were uploading
  progressive
• had been uploading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will upload
  simple
• will have uploaded
  perfect
• will be uploading
  progressive
• will have been uploading
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of upload

up- + load

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Explanation

When you send any kind of data from your computer to the internet, you upload it. Want to change your social media profile picture? Just upload a new photo — maybe that one of you and your cat dressed in matching sweaters! Any time you share photos online, submit an assignment to the school website, or even send an email, you upload data. Typically this means transferring electronic information from an individual computer to a larger network or server. To download is the exact opposite — when you download something, you transfer it from a server to your computer. Both words date from about 1980.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

upload uploads uploaded uploading

That meant the formation laps had to be aborted, and a new code written and given to the teams to upload to ensure that did not happen again.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Other than our contact information, we had to upload just two documents — one detailing our proposed tuition and fees, and the other with our refund policy.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

In June, Poshmark announced a partnership with Venice-based AI shopping assistant platform Silvr to upload more than a hundred million of its listings so users can search for outfits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

OpenAI introduced a self-serve platform in May that allows companies to upload creative materials, set budgets and track performance—an offering that helps attract small and midsize businesses that can’t afford major advertising firms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

He takes photos of the drawings, then shows me how to upload and drop them into the program.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Music streaming site Deezer systematically flags tracks generated with AI, which the company recently said appear in close to half of new uploads.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Unfortunately, episodes of “Wishbone” aren’t available to stream, though low-resolution uploads of episodes can be found on YouTube, or you can buy used “Wishbone” VHS tapes or DVDs online.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

To avoid security and privacy risks, no code runs on your device and data access is limited to explicit uploads.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

But even if you pay nothing for storage, Google still uploads your Nest clips and keeps them, at least for a time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

Or people who smell funny, wear sweatpants, or don’t like her Instagram posts as soon as she uploads them.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

Those images and the clothing he was wearing at the time of his death were uploaded to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Earlier this year a French naval officer went for a 4-mile run and, like millions of other runners around the world, uploaded his progress to Strava, the fitness app that plots workouts on a map.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

We emailed back, asking for clarity and noting we had already uploaded the inspection reports.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

The first tranche of 161 files was uploaded to the US defence department's website on 8 May, with promises of more to come.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

If everything uploaded to the Thunderhead was stored in the backbrain, then not just public records were there, but personal as well.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Cameron revealed the pair’s engagement in January, uploading a picture to her Instagram account that zoomed in on the engagement ring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Half has gone towards development, including a mobile app for uploading animal sightings and an AI system that helps humans verify observations.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

An AI agent tried to pass a test by uploading a file to the internet, then citing it as a source.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

There’s also the risk that uploading a loved one’s emails, texts and chatlogs to AI could result in learning something you didn’t want to know about that person.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

“I’m uploading all of these to the cloud, so they’re not being stored on my phone. We have a megaton of video, so that was the best option.”

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

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