ascend
Americanverb (used without object)
-
ascends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ascended,
past participle, past
-
ascending
present participle
-
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)
-
ascends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ascended,
past participle, past
-
ascending
present participle
-
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
Synonym Usage
See climb.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ascendsimple
-
ascendssimple
-
have ascendedperfect
-
has ascendedperfect
-
am ascendingprogressive
-
are ascendingprogressive
-
is ascendingprogressive
-
have been ascendingperfect progressive
-
has been ascendingperfect progressive
Past
-
ascendedsimple
-
had ascendedperfect
-
was ascendingprogressive
-
were ascendingprogressive
-
had been ascendingperfect progressive
Future
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Six
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beowulf vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Our tendency to ascend and reach higher places may reflect a deep ancestral relationship with trees that extends beyond anatomy alone.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
But what some perceive as a negative makes the Green Lantern legend appealing to others, especially those driven to ascend through ambition and hard work.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
An Asahi Shimbun poll in May also showed 72 percent of respondents in favour of changing the rules to allow women to ascend the throne.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Ever since, fans have been hoping she'll ascend to the top of the Pyramid Stage.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Precisely one minute before the hour, they each ascend their respective platforms and pull from their backs shimmering black bows and arrows.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
After a top-flight career as a session musician, Preston’s star ascends ever higher after his January 1969 collaboration with The Beatles.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026
Roborock’s Saros Rover robot vacuum has two legs and can climb stairs, cleaning each step as it ascends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
Only days remain until Zohran Mamdani ascends the throne of New York City, and nearly all his great opponents have given up.
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2025
When magma ascends from deep within Earth, it can make the ground shake.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
And a noise like a shrunken scream descends and ascends around us.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
Harald then ascended to the throne when Olav died on 17 January 1991.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
"I think she has ascended to sainthood now."
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The Knicks have slowly and steadily ascended to the top of the NBA, advancing one playoff round farther each year—conference semifinals, conference finals, and the NBA Finals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
And as he ascended, James Dolan even turned on the patriarch, blocking his then-78-year-old father’s dream deal with a satellite TV business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Methuselah embraced the young mouse as if he were his own son, and as Matthias ascended the ladder, the old mouse called out final instructions to him.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
He left for army training in Belgrade in the early 1960s, becoming an officer by the age of 22 and ascending to be commander of the Bosnian Serb forces in the war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
“I had the cool experience of actually ascending into the treehouse,” said Kim Cooper, co-owner of Esotouric tours and former visitors to the treehouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The FAA works closely with launchers to carve out airspace for launches, keeping commercial air traffic out of areas where rockets are ascending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
A mantle plume ascending from deep within the mantle whose constituent material differs chemically from the surrounding mantle and may include components derived from ancient oceanic crust.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
Except for a handful of doctors, government officials, and family friends who would enter the Petersen house, that glimpse of the president ascending the stairs was the last time Americans saw Abraham Lincoln alive.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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.
