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upward

[uhp-werd]
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adverb Also up·wards.
  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.
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Idioms
  1. upwards of, more than; above: My vacation cost me upwards of a thousand dollars.
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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. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for upwards of

upward

adjective
  1. directed or moving towards a higher point or level
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adverb
  1. a variant of upwards
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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 upwards of

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with upwards of

upwards of

Also, upward of. More than, in excess of, as in Upwards of 30,000 spectators filled the ballpark. [c. 1600]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.