upriver

[ uhp-riv-er ]

adverb

1. in the direction of or nearer the source of a river:

   It's hard to paddle a canoe upriver; an upriver settlement of tribes.

upriver

/ ˈʌpˈrɪvə /

adjective

1. towards or near the source of a river

noun

1. an area located upstream

Word History and Origins

Origin of upriver¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; up- + river ¹

Example Sentences

Reed said he isn’t surprised the fish have quickly made their way far upriver and into their ancestral creeks.

From Los Angeles Times

The state’s plan cautions, however, that spring-run chinook may not repopulate their historical habitats on their own because those areas lie more than 100 miles upriver from waters where they survive.

From Los Angeles Times

The two drove upriver to another research site.

From Los Angeles Times

Nine miles upriver, machinery tore into the foundation of a second dam, Copco No. 1, carving away some of the last fragments of the sloping concrete barrier that once towered above the Klamath River.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet for centuries, the best of France’s goods and goodies have floated upriver or flowed downhill for the care and feeding of Paris.

From Los Angeles Times