uppercase

American  

[uhp-er-keys] / ˈʌp ərˈkeɪs /

adjective

1. (of an alphabetic character) capital.

   Uppercase letters such as Q and U can be harder to read than lowercase letters q and u.

2. Printing. pertaining to or belonging in the upper case, such as A, N, or W.

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verb (used with object)

uppercased, uppercasing

1. to print or write with an uppercase letter, such as M, L, or V.

noun

1. a capital letter, such as T, X, or P.

Usage

What does uppercase mean? Uppercase means the same thing as capital in capital letter—the bigger, taller version of a letter (like W), as opposed to the smaller version, which is called a lowercase letter (like w). Uppercase letters can also be called capitals. Some uppercase letters are just larger, taller versions of their lowercase counterparts (like uppercase W and lowercase w or uppercase C and lowercase c), but in many cases the two versions of the letter take different forms altogether, such as uppercase A and lowercase a or uppercase B and lowercase b. Uppercase can also be used as a verb meaning the same thing as capitalize—to make a letter a capital or uppercase letter. For example, to uppercase the word polish (which is here spelled with a lowercase p), you would write it with an uppercase P, as Polish. The state of being capitalized or uppercase (or the process of making a letter uppercase) is called capitalization, as in Please check your paper for proper punctuation and capitalization. In English, uppercase letters are used at the beginning of words for a few different reasons. It is considered a standard rule of English to use an uppercase letter to start proper nouns (which are nouns that refer to specific people, places, or things—meaning one’s that have specific names), such as Jess, Mexico, and Nintendo. Using an uppercase letter at the start of a word can change the way the reader interprets its meaning, as in the case of polish (a verb meaning to make something shinier) and Polish (an adjective describing someone from Poland) or apple (the fruit) and Apple (the company). We also use an uppercase letter for the first letter of the first word in a sentence. Sometimes, we use an uppercase letter for the first letter of each word in a title, as in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. This is sometimes called title case. Some acronyms and abbreviations are written using all uppercase letters, such as NASA and U. S. A word written entirely in uppercase letters (like WHAT) is said to be written in caps or all caps. Example: A lot of people don’t bother using uppercase letters in text messages unless they want to emphasize something.

Etymology

Origin of uppercase

First recorded in 1730–40; upper ¹ + case ² (in the sense “a tray divided into compartments for holding types for a compositor to use”)

Explanation

Uppercase letters are capitalized, like the uppercase "T" in "Texas" and the uppercase "B" and "R" in "Betsy Ross." You can also call uppercase letters capitals, caps, or if you want to be really formal, majuscules. In English, we use uppercase for so-called proper nouns, things like people's names (like Ruth Bader Ginsberg), place names (like Saskatchewan), formal titles (like Dr. Patel), and the the names of movies and books (like Pride and Prejudice). The first word in each sentence also begins with an uppercase letter. These letters are slightly taller than their lowercase counterparts.

Example Sentences

The economy has shifted from a lowercase k to an uppercase one, a Wall Street researcher told me this past week.

From Barron's • Dec. 4, 2025

Taylor-O’Connor: Ellie’s path is she’s teaching herself uppercase letters right now.

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2025

Unified, student Maria Arriaga will be timed to see how many uppercase and lowercase letters she can name in a minute.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2024

“Have a Seat: Mexican Chair Design Today,” it reads in uppercase letters rendered in an eye-popping, pink font.

From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2024

The alphabet was spelled out in a rainbow of uppercase letters.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day