uplift

American  

[uhp-lift, uhp-lift] / ʌpˈlɪft, ˈʌpˌlɪft /

verb (used with object)

• uplifts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• uplifted,
  past participle,  past
• uplifting
  present participle

1. 

   to lift up; raise; elevate.

2. to improve socially, culturally, morally, or the like.

   to uplift downtrodden and deprived peoples.

3. to exalt emotionally or spiritually.

---

verb (used without object)

• uplifts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• uplifted,
  past participle,  past
• uplifting
  present participle

1. to become uplifted.

noun

1. an act of lifting up or raising; elevation.

2. the process or work of improving, as socially, intellectually, or morally.

3. emotional or spiritual exaltation.

   Synonyms:

   enhancement, betterment, enrichment

4. a brassiere.

5. Geology. an upheaval.

uplift British  

verb

1. to raise; elevate; lift up

2. to raise morally, spiritually, culturally, etc

3. to collect (a passenger, parcel, etc); pick up

---

noun

1. the act, process, or result of lifting up

2. the act or process of bettering moral, social or cultural conditions, etc

3. 1. a brassiere for lifting and supporting the breasts

   2. ( as modifier )

      an uplift bra

4. the process or result of land being raised to a higher level, as during a period of mountain building

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• uplifter
  noun
• upliftment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• uplifting
  present
• uplifted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• uplift
  simple
• uplifts
  simple
• have uplifted
  perfect
• has uplifted
  perfect
• am uplifting
  progressive
• are uplifting
  progressive
• is uplifting
  progressive
• have been uplifting
  perfect progressive
• has been uplifting
  perfect progressive

Past

• uplifted
  simple
• had uplifted
  perfect
• was uplifting
  progressive
• were uplifting
  progressive
• had been uplifting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will uplift
  simple
• will have uplifted
  perfect
• will be uplifting
  progressive
• will have been uplifting
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of uplift

First recorded in 1300–50, uplift is from the Middle English word upliften. See up-, lift

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

uplift uplifts uplifted uplifting

But even this all-timer of a central character is undermined by basic storytelling and the schematic rudiments of uplift.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

This deluge of uplift is a collage of the photographer’s lifework, but he also adds: “I had Peter’s music to work from — and his music didn’t suggest darkness.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Landslides are common in the coastal mountains of Alaska where rapid uplift, caused by tectonic forces and long-term ice loss, converges with the erosive forces of precipitation and moving glaciers.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Mercedes introduced an aerodynamic upgrade in Malaysia last weekend, but it did not give the car the performance uplift expected.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

He was as cynical as I was regarding uplift and hope, and we were proud of having escaped what we called the “childhood disease of metaphysical fear.”

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Meanwhile NielsenIQ noted many related works -- including "The Iliad", Madeline Miller's "Circe" and Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad" -- had also seen "significant" sales uplifts.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Dr Helen Kerr, a resident doctor in emergency medicine at Altnagelvin Hospital, said doctors felt they had been "forced into this after years of sub-inflationary pay uplifts".

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

“The K line presents an opportunity for a different choice, an opportunity to learn from this history and ensure that investment in transit uplifts rather than harms.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

The government is under pressure from its own MPs to scrap the two-child limit for benefit uplifts.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025

The curious beauty of African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad tale.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

‘We are taking this moment to refine our humor guidelines to ensure . . . satire does not hurt communities and voices that should be uplifted.’

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

"A selfless and gentle soul, he tirelessly uplifted others through his words and actions. His achievements were great and we do not want misrepresentations about his character to overshadow them," they added.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

It’s been a week of emotional and intellectual whiplash, but I head into the theater feeling uplifted.

From Slate ● May 8, 2026

“Public streets and building names are meant to honor individuals who uplifted our community and represented its highest values,” he wrote on Facebook.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

And though Will didn’t know what that meant, he understood the sense of it, and felt uplifted with pride and purpose.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

To watch these real and fictional partnerships play out without doubting their credibility is… I don’t know, is uplifting the word?

From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026

"When it's subsiding, that means that there's probably magma draining away from the volcano, but once the ground starts uplifting again, that can mean that there's potentially new magma moving in," Johnson said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

He often spoke of striving, which he meant as searching or seeking, but the word also took on the old-fashioned connotation of uplifting the race by uplifting yourself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

His government runs a number of scheme aimed at uplifting women and Modi enjoys tremendous popularity among female voters.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

On this front, I had nothing terribly uplifting or encouraging to say.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• excite
• exhilarate
• improve
• lift up

---