upstream
Americanadverb
adjective
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directed upstream; situated upstream.
an upstream journey; an upstream hideout.
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Commerce. of or relating to the early stages in the operations of a business or industry, as exploration and production in the oil business (opposed to downstream).
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against or opposite to the direction of transcription, translation, or synthesis of a DNA, RNA, or protein molecule.
adverb
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in or towards the higher part of a stream; against the current
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(in the oil industry) of or for any of the stages prior to oil production, such as exploration or research Compare downstream
Etymology
Origin of upstream
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.
"There are certain highly sensitive issues in transboundary matters like comprehensive data of river flows that countries might not want to share, particularly upstream countries," says Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a former senior specialist at ICIMOD.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Green Party councillor Andy Brown said the levels of sewage going in the rivers "is deeply disgusting" and called the latest testing further upstream "far from reassuring".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Chinook salmon swim upstream first in the fall, and coho salmon usually start appearing in the Scott River to spawn in November.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Analysts said BP is building a rationalized upstream pipeline capable of supporting volume growth on the order of about 3% per year between 2030 and 2035.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
I remember hearing my sister walk across the meadow from upstream.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
