upward

[uhp-werd]

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.

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

Related Words for upward

uphill, higher, skyward, up, ascending, assurgent, above, lofty, greater, antrorse

Examples from the Web for upward

Contemporary Examples of 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
But arrests of rhino poachers have also followed an upward curve.
South Africa’s Great Rhino Airlift
Nina Strochlic
August 17, 2014
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
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
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

Historical Examples of upward

My shock of surprise was the result of this upward process of inspection.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
There can be no upward change which is not in accord with the laws of Nature.
The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
Oro is as heavy in its upward falling as Grah is in its downward.
Two Thousand Miles Below
Charles Willard Diffin
That is the normal process of civilization in its march forward and upward.
High Finance
Otto H. Kahn
Any active boy of ten years of age and upward may become a wheelman.
Harper's Young People, June 22, 1880
Various

British Dictionary definitions for upward

upward

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

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.