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
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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.
See Examples For:
Her wide-ranging contralto—the lowest of female vocal types—could produce rich, cello-like tones or ascend easily into the soprano realm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But he was about to rapidly ascend in Russia to a position of wealth and influence, with the help of a powerful friend.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
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
Ever since, fans have been hoping she'll ascend to the top of the Pyramid Stage.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
And then Boston tilts away and they ascend effortlessly over a blackened Atlantic.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
As the first plane in their journey ascends, Travolta’s distinct voice no longer feels like he’s narrating for a character.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
A coming model can even climb stairs, cleaning each step as it ascends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
As the rover ascends, the landscape increasingly shows signs that water gradually disappeared over time, although occasional wetter periods allowed rivers and lakes to return.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026
In his debut novel, Milo Todd tells the story of a trans man in Berlin who must adjust to a life of secrecy after Hitler ascends to power.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025
He ascends, falls at a slope, strikes the rebar and returns to the ground.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
When Bunch ascended to his top job in 2019, he was celebrated as the first African-American and first historian in the Secretary role—his 13 predecessors all hailed from scientific, business or legal fields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
"I think she has ascended to sainthood now."
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The king ascended the Scandinavian country's throne in January 1991 and has openly ruled out abdicating.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
As Amodei ascended within OpenAI, Clark joined him at company events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
I ascended it now, in lighter boots than of yore, and tapped in my old way at the door of Miss Havisham’s room.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Dyson spent nearly two decades ascending the Coca-Cola management ranks in South America, the Caribbean and Mexico before moving to Atlanta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Turner played with Donald as a rookie in 2023 and soaked up as much as he could from the eight-time All-Pro before ascending to become a team leader.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
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
“We think that most people get ascending aortic dissections because of genetics,” Martin said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Abandoning the remaining condolences, Celia takes the card in hand and leaves the room, ascending a winding stair that leads to the upstairs parlor.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
