upward mobility

British  

noun

1. sociol the movement of an individual, social group, or class to a position of increased status or power Compare downward mobility See also horizontal mobility vertical mobility

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upward mobility Cultural  

1. Rising from a lower to a higher social class or status. (See also social mobility.)

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Example Sentences

The route to upward mobility in the U.S. used to be to graduate from college, work a stable white-collar job and buy a home.

From The Wall Street Journal

Instead, they have produced a quintessentially American phenomenon: a roaring engine of upward mobility.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the postwar idea of upward mobility was always contingent on certain fundamentals: strong institutions, affordable education, accessible homeownership and stable work.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The current housing market is entrenched in an affordability crisis leaving many average American families feeling excluded from the traditional promise of upward mobility and homeownership,” Miller said on the Wednesday call.

From Barron's

That shift marks a departure from the prepandemic years, when rising property values and rapid income growth fueled a sense of upward mobility.

From MarketWatch