noun
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music
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a usually unaccented beat, esp the last in a bar
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the upward gesture of a conductor's baton indicating this Compare downbeat
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an upward trend (in prosperity, etc)
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of upbeat
1865–70; 1950–55 upbeat for def. 3; up- + beat
Explanation
If you tend to be cheerful and positive no matter what's going on, your friends probably describe you as upbeat. When your soccer coach wants to be encouraging, she gives the team an upbeat speech. Need to cheer yourself up? Spend some time with an upbeat friend, watch an upbeat movie, or listen to some upbeat music. This informal adjective comes from the word's original musical meaning, "the beat of a bar at which the conductor's baton is in a raised position." Music writers in the 1940s used the slang phrase "on the upbeat" to mean "getting better." The "cheerful" meaning followed around 1947.
Vocabulary lists containing upbeat
Cindy Williams (1947–2023) Tribute List
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Louisiana’s Way Home
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Zara's Rules for Record-Breaking Fun
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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.
But it seemed more like grinning and bearing it rather than anything more upbeat.
From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026
The company’s upbeat forecast indicates an earnings recovery for the year, driven by expansion into new businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026
However, Susanto told MarketWatch in emailed comments that his firm remains upbeat about companies making the “foundational building blocks of AI infrastructure.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026
The upbeat tone struck by city officials belied the ongoing concerns from neighbors and people across large swaths of L.A. about the smoke that has poured from the building for days.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026
The choir fills in the stands and the band starts an upbeat song.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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.
