upward

American  

[uhp-werd] / ˈʌp wərd /

adverb

1. toward a higher place or position.

   The birds flew upward.

2. toward a higher or more distinguished condition, rank, level, etc..

   His employer wishes to move him upward in the company.

3. to a greater degree; more.

   fourscore and upward.

4. toward a large city, the source or origin of a stream, or the interior of a country or region.

   They followed the Thames River upward from the North Sea to London.

5. in the upper parts; above.

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adjective

1. moving or tending upward; directed at or situated in a higher place or position.

idioms

1. upwards of, more than; above.

   My vacation cost me upwards of a thousand dollars.

upward British  

/ ˈʌpwəd /

adjective

1. directed or moving towards a higher point or level

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adverb

1. a variant of upwards

Other Word Forms

• upwardly adverb
• upwardness noun

Etymology

Origin of upward

before 900; Middle English; Old English upweard (cognate with Dutch opwaart ). See up-, -ward

Example Sentences

Their hands shot into the air, trying to reach him, and he threw his arm upward with full force, like he was lifting the whole room with him.

From Los Angeles Times

In the K-shaped economy, high-income households sit on the upward arm of the “K,” benefiting from rising pay as well as the value of their stock and property holdings.

From Los Angeles Times

As a result, most cases of upward income mobility are driven by employment income, either on its own or alongside smaller amounts of capital income.

From Science Daily

However, the new analysis indicates that the upward trend started earlier, at the same time religious participation began to decline.

From Science Daily

By halftime the possibility of a massive upset had crept uncomfortably upward for UCLA.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• higher
• skyward
• uphill