upscale
Americanadjective
-
located at, moving toward, or of or for the upper end of a social or economic scale.
The boutique caters to upscale young career people.
-
luxurious, costly, or elegant.
verb (used with object)
noun
adjective
verb
Etymology
Origin of upscale
Explanation
Things that are upscale are made for rich people — they are high class, well made, or just plain pricey. If your friend takes you to a fancy, expensive restaurant for your birthday, you can describe it using the word upscale. Upscale neighborhoods are full of lovely, high-priced homes, and upscale vacations might involve yachts, exotic beaches, and private planes. Upscale is the opposite of downscale, which you could use to describe a run-down motel or a grubby, cheap diner. Both adjectives first came into use in the mid-1960s.
Vocabulary lists containing upscale
A Wealth Of Words: Synonyms for "Rich"
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Outcasts United
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The Parker Inheritance
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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.
The upscale cruise operator said Thursday that Leah Talactac, previously Viking president and chief financial officer, would be its new CEO, effective immediately.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
For more than a year, Modica’s upscale Boston suburb has stalled on complying with a Massachusetts law requiring towns with transit access to allow more housing.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
She also wonders whether even the suburban parks built a few decades ago in more upscale neighborhoods for one kind of demographic — the 9-to-5 workers with nuclear families — meet present-day lifestyle.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
The upscale area is popular with celebrities: Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, and Mike Myers have all lived here.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
She once conducted another experiment in which she set up a tasting booth with a variety of exotic gourmet jams at the upscale grocery store Draeger’s in Menlo Park, California.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
