noun
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a revolt or rebellion
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archaic an ascent
Etymology
Origin of uprising
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at up-, rising
Explanation
An organized rebellion, especially against an authority or government — is an uprising. If your entire math class joined together in rebellion against your teacher's unfair grading practices, you could call it an uprising. The word uprising is most often used to describe a political revolt, often a violent insurrection against the established rule, but its original meaning was very different. In the thirteenth century, an uprising was a resurrection, or "the action of rising from the grave," and soon after that it meant "an action of rising from the bed." It wasn't until the late 1500's that it came to mean "revolt."
Vocabulary lists containing uprising
Born a Crime
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Stamped
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Catching Fire
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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.
Capping off the year is a production of Alice Childress’ modern classic, “Wine in the Wilderness,” set amid the Harlem Uprising of 1964.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
Holocaust Memorial Museum had used the term in translating a text about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025
On a shelf is a photograph of Wanda as a fighter, brandishing a machine gun during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, when the Polish underground fought the German Army amidst the ruins of the city.
From BBC • May 2, 2025
“Twin Flames: The George Floyd Uprising from Minneapolis to Phoenix” features about 500 artifacts that protesters and mourners left at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, where Floyd was killed.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 8, 2024
Our history is a shining sea Locked in by lofty land, And its great Pillars of Hercules, Above the shifting sand I here behold in majesty Uprising on each hand.
From Southern Literature From 1579-1895 A comprehensive review, with copious extracts and criticisms for the use of schools and the general reader by Manly, Louise
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.
