upsweep

[ verb uhp-sweep; noun uhp-sweep ]

verb (used with object)

, up·swept, up·sweep·ing.

1. to sweep upward.

verb (used without object)

, up·swept, up·sweep·ing.

1. to be arranged in an upsweep.

noun

1. a sweeping upward, as an increase in elevation or a steep slope.
2. a hairdo produced by having the hair combed or brushed upward to the top of the head; an upswept hairdo.
3. a strongly pronounced rise in activity, as in business.
4. a curved shape of the lower jaw of some animals.

upsweep

noun

1. a curve or sweep upwards
2. an upswept hairstyle

verb

1. to sweep, curve, or brush or be swept, curved, or brushed upwards

Word History and Origins

Origin of upsweep¹

First recorded in 1885–90; up- + sweep ¹

Example Sentences

Chicly dressed with a complicated upsweep that evokes Hitchcock’s blondes, she moves as if in a trance all the way through the front doors, where she sees people rioting.

From New York Times

Features of interest include letter spacing, how letters connect, and the drop or rise of “legs” below or above a letter, such as the tail of a small letter “g” or the upsweep of a small letter “d.”

From Scientific American

It was a small, wise face, as alert and poised as a question; and though certain features of it were suggestive of youth—the elfin upsweep of the eyebrows, the deft lines of nose and jaw and mouth—it was by no means a young face, and the hair was snow white.

From Literature

Her Audrey Hepburn upsweep looked recently done, as well.

From Literature

There he watches Ally belt out the Edith Piaf standard “La Vie en Rose,” in a sheath and upsweep, her arched artificial brows adding quizzical punctuation to her face.

From New York Times