ascend
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to move, climb, or go upward; mount; rise.
The airplane ascended into the clouds.
- Synonyms:
- soar
- Antonyms:
- descend
-
to slant upward.
-
to rise to a higher point, rank, or degree; proceed from an inferior to a superior degree or level.
to ascend to the presidency.
-
to go toward the source or beginning; go back in time.
-
Music. to rise in pitch; pass from any tone to a higher one.
verb (used with object)
-
to go or move upward upon or along; climb; mount.
to ascend a lookout tower;
to ascend stairs.
- Antonyms:
- descend
-
to gain or succeed to; acquire.
to ascend the throne.
verb
-
to go or move up (a ladder, hill, slope, etc); mount; climb
-
(intr) to slope or incline upwards
-
(intr) to rise to a higher point, level, degree, etc
-
to follow (a river) upstream towards its source
-
to trace (a genealogy, etc) back in time
-
to sing or play (a scale, arpeggio, etc) from the lower to higher notes
-
to become king or queen
Related Words
See climb.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ascend
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ascenden, from Anglo-French ascendre, from Latin ascendere “to climb up,” from a- a- 5 + -scendere, combining form of scandere “to climb”
Explanation
To ascend is to move or travel upwards. You can do this literally, like when you ascend to 35,000 feet after your plane takes off, or figuratively, like when you win the lottery and ascend to a higher social class. Riding the escalators in the department store is one way to amuse yourself while your parents shop. You can ascend all the way to the 8th floor, and then descend back to the ground floor. Both ascend and descend come from the Latin verb scandere, which means "to climb." It's the prefixes that make all the difference. The a- of ascend makes the word mean "climb up," while the de- of its antonym makes descend mean "climb down."
Vocabulary lists containing ascend
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Six
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
Participants also reported how many flights of stairs they climbed daily, based on the estimate that each flight takes 8 seconds to ascend.
From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026
"After recording several takes of this work... she quietly turned to me and said, 'This one is good. I would like to have this one played when I ascend into heaven'."
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
He was also the youngest man to ascend to the world number one ranking.
From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026
There are also climbing nets that kids can use to ascend to the rafters to take care of the animals up top.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
The young prince grew until he was nearly a man, coming within two years of the eighteenth birthday that would allow him to ascend to the throne on the old king’s death.
From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness
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.
