upcountry

[uhp-kuhn-tree, uhp-kuhn-tree]

adjective

Chiefly Southern U.S.

1. of, relating to, residing in, or situated in the interior of a region or country; inland.

2. Disparaging.,  unsophisticated.

noun

1. the interior of a region or country.

adverb

1. toward, into, or in the interior of a country.

   The explorers trekked upcountry.

upcountry

/ ʌpˈkʌntrɪ /

adjective

1. of or coming from the interior of a country or region

2. derogatory,  lacking the sophistication associated with city-dwellers; countrified

noun

1. the interior part of a region or country

adverb

1. towards, in, or into the interior part of a country or region

Word History and Origins

Origin of upcountry¹

First recorded in 1680–90; up- + country

Example Sentences

Now, he said, the lane’s residents are mostly migrants from upcountry.

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A cousin told her father the pair were headed upcountry.

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Meanwhile the virus has spread into more rural areas, including one of the United Nations-run camps upcountry where more than 150,000 civilians still shelter after South Sudan’s civil war ended in 2018.

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“A lot of ladies here working in nightlife are mostly from a poor family or upcountry,” she said.

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He has mapped where farmers can grow coffee next: basically upcountry, where it’s cooler.

Read more on Seattle Times