uplift
Americanverb (used with object)
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to lift up; raise; elevate.
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to improve socially, culturally, morally, or the like.
to uplift downtrodden and deprived peoples.
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to exalt emotionally or spiritually.
verb (used without object)
noun
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an act of lifting up or raising; elevation.
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the process or work of improving, as socially, intellectually, or morally.
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emotional or spiritual exaltation.
- Synonyms:
- enhancement, betterment, enrichment
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a brassiere.
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Geology. an upheaval.
verb
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to raise; elevate; lift up
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to raise morally, spiritually, culturally, etc
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to collect (a passenger, parcel, etc); pick up
noun
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the act, process, or result of lifting up
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the act or process of bettering moral, social or cultural conditions, etc
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a brassiere for lifting and supporting the breasts
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( as modifier )
an uplift bra
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the process or result of land being raised to a higher level, as during a period of mountain building
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uplift
First recorded in 1300–50, uplift is from the Middle English word upliften. See up-, lift
Vocabulary lists containing uplift
Plate Tectonics - Middle School
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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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.
However, the uplift is likely to be temporary as industry oversupply and rising raw-material costs limit pricing power, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
“Mike has been working to uplift progressive candidates across the country and Rae is among the other folks he’s donated to or platformed,” Shaikh said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
The team also found that the uplift was not uniform.
From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026
“We anticipate a modest check uplift but limited traffic benefit for MCD,” RBC analyst Logan Reich said in a note last week.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026
Although many poor African Americans rejected the philosophies, tactics, and strategies of the black elite, ultimately moral uplift ideology became the new common sense.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
