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.
A quick stroll upstream, a group of DJs unaffiliated with the family-friendly festival hosted a day party aimed at Gen Z and millennial attendees, perched on one of the channel’s outcrops.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
The company’s low-cost hydropower smelting operations and expanding upstream assets are expected to support earnings growth and margin resilience, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Further downstream, at the river's mouth, the situation is already serious: seawater has pushed about 20 kilometres upstream.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
They remain bullish on tech and AI upstream plays such as utilities and some industrials, along with defense stocks and banks, and said higher-growth areas of healthcare are also starting to show some value.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
So numerous were the fish, and so driven, that when mischievous boys walled off the stream with stones the alewives would leap the barrier—silver bodies gleaming in the sun— and proceed upstream.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
