upward

[uhp-werd]

adverb

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.

adjective

1. moving or tending upward; directed at or situated in a higher place or position.

upward

/ ˈʌpwəd /

adjective

1. directed or moving towards a higher point or level

adverb

1. a variant of upwards

Other Word Forms

• upwardly adverb
• upwardness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of upward¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English upweard (cognate with Dutch opwaart ). See up-, -ward

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. upwards of, more than; above.

   My vacation cost me upwards of a thousand dollars.

Example Sentences

After that initial upward burst, the Skycrane then made an “aggressive descent” to 2,500 feet.

From Los Angeles Times

He began driving but has spent the past 16 years guarding buildings, a job that offers some security but little upward mobility.

From BBC

But he pointed to some measures that could help reduce the upward pressure on bills.

From Los Angeles Times

And Space X is rumored to be investing upward of $1 billion to turn the Astrodome in Houston into its Mission Control Alpha.

From Los Angeles Times

The number of counselors spiked upward even as student enrollment went in the other direction.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• higher 
• skyward 
• uphill