- toward a higher place or position: The birds flew upward.
- toward a higher or more distinguished condition, rank, level, etc.: His employer wishes to move him upward in the company.
- to a greater degree; more: fourscore and upward.
- 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.
- in the upper parts; above.
- moving or tending upward; directed at or situated in a higher place or position.
- upwards of, more than; above: My vacation cost me upwards of a thousand dollars.
Origin of upward
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for upward
Constitutional arguments aside, there do seem to be some better ways to create conditions for upward mobility among newcomers.Legal but Still Poor: The Economic Consequences of Amnesty
November 21, 2014
But arrests of rhino poachers have also followed an upward curve.South Africa’s Great Rhino Airlift
August 17, 2014
The upward trend in the birth rate for unmarried mothers has reversed—dropping 14 percent, according to a new CDC report.Unwed Women in the United States Are Having Fewer Babies
August 13, 2014
Certainly, we have had an upward revisionism of Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan.Will the Tapes That Destroyed Nixon Help Rehabilitate His Image?
August 6, 2014
This was not onward and upward for TV news, but it got good ratings for CNN, so expect to see more.Hillary Clinton’s Network Massage
June 10, 2014
My shock of surprise was the result of this upward process of inspection.The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
There can be no upward change which is not in accord with the laws of Nature.The Truth About Woman
C. Gasquoine Hartley
Oro is as heavy in its upward falling as Grah is in its downward.Two Thousand Miles Below
Charles Willard Diffin
That is the normal process of civilization in its march forward and upward.High Finance
Otto H. Kahn
Any active boy of ten years of age and upward may become a wheelman.
- directed or moving towards a higher point or level
- a variant of upwards
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 upward
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper