upward

[ uhp-werd ]

/ ˈʌp wərd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR upward ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb Also up·wards.

toward a higher place or position: The birds flew upward.

toward a higher or more distinguished condition, rank, level, etc.: His employer wishes to move him upward in the company.

to a greater degree; more: fourscore and upward.

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.

in the upper parts; above.

adjective

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

Nearby words

Idioms

upwards of, more than; above: My vacation cost me upwards of a thousand dollars.

Origin of upward

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

Related formsup·ward·ly, adverbup·ward·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for upward

Constitutional arguments aside, there do seem to be some better ways to create conditions for upward mobility among newcomers.
Legal but Still Poor: The Economic Consequences of Amnesty|Joel Kotkin|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But arrests of rhino poachers have also followed an upward curve.
South Africa’s Great Rhino Airlift|Nina Strochlic|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The upward trend in the birth rate for unmarried mothers has reversed—dropping 14 percent, according to a new CDC report.
Unwed Women in the United States Are Having Fewer Babies|Brandy Zadrozny|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Certainly, we have had an upward revisionism of Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan.
Will the Tapes That Destroyed Nixon Help Rehabilitate His Image?|Scott Porch|August 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

This was not onward and upward for TV news, but it got good ratings for CNN, so expect to see more.
Hillary Clinton’s Network Massage|Tom Shales|June 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now I forced them upward for hours at a time, and all the muscles of neck and shoulders revolted.
Jungle Peace|William Beebe
Remember the teaching of scripture and science, that the upward path was never intended to be easy.
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler
By turning the pen over and writing with the back of the point, the upward strokes emerged fine and hair-like.
Emmy Lou|George Madden Martin
A midsummer morning after a night of rain—and yet, no bird, no hopeful greenery, no sense of the upward yearning Earth-Soul!
The River and I|John G. Neihardt
In four such hunts, the numbers destroyed were upward of nine thousand.
Stories about Animals: with Pictures to Match|Francis C. Woodworth

British Dictionary definitions for upward

upward

/ (ˈʌpwəd) /

adjective

directed or moving towards a higher point or level

adverb

a variant of upwards

Derived Formsupwardly, adverbupwardness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for upward

upward

Old English upweard, upweardes; see up + -ward. Cf. Middle Low German upwart, Middle Dutch opwaert, Middle High German ufwart. Phrase upward mobility first recorded 1949; mainly restricted to sociologists' jargon until 1960s.