1
: an unaccented beat or portion of a beat in a musical measure
specifically
: the last beat of the measure
2
: an increase in activity or prosperity
business that is on the upbeat
: cheerful, optimistic
I'm feeling upbeat today
Synonyms
Examples of upbeat in a Sentence
Adjective
I like a story with an upbeat ending.
I tried to stay upbeat about losing the election.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Travelli, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Markets broadly welcomed the upbeat posting, with shares trading nearly 8% up year-to-date and up over 30% in the past 12 months.
—Mark Faithfull, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
In early episodes, The Brothers Sun plays like an upbeat, if somewhat uneven, buddy comedy.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Jan. 2024
Through the rooms the white minders come and go
with their upbeat and their bags of blood.
—Christian Wiman, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Payton, 59, back from a one-year sabbatical from coaching, is the same upbeat, cocksure soul who generated so much success, including a Super Bowl crown, during 15 seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
—Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023
The Frenchie did his part to keep every upbeat at the sweet picnic by performing a trick show and posing for plenty of photos.
—David Chiu, Peoplemag, 12 July 2023
The group then took the stage, impressing all four judges — Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofía Vergara — as well as the audience with their upbeat, perfectly in-sync performance.
—Joelle Goldstein, Peoplemag, 14 June 2023
Fox is very adroit at remaining upbeat and keeping things light during our time together.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 11 May 2023
Kiana Murden, Vogue, 19 Apr. 2024
Long Beach has evolved into an upbeat coastal retreat but still holds fast to its Long Island roots (think fried clams, fresh bagels, and Italian ices).
—Kira Turnbull, Travel + Leisure, 19 Apr. 2024
Swift is an expert at Trojan horse songs: Lyrics that cut hidden beneath an innocuous, upbeat melody.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
UnitedHealth’s upbeat results drove up the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, investors are buying in, as allocations to stocks have surged since an October low on the back of upbeat projections for economic growth, according to Deutsche Bank.
—Sagarika Jaisinghani, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
And speaking of that clash of worldviews, find someone who loves you like this show loves to ironically juxtapose scenes of despair or stylized, gory violence with upbeat or wistful Forties and Fifties pop songs.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
O’Leary maintained an upbeat tone throughout his speech but acknowledged changing times, but did call on exhibitors to partner more with distributors during the marketing process.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
The album features a mix of ultra-confident, upbeat bangers and more vulnerable tracks — a product of her experiences on and off the road while making its songs.
—Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Noun
International surveys show India’s consumers have become the most upbeat anywhere.
—Alex Travelli, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Markets broadly welcomed the upbeat posting, with shares trading nearly 8% up year-to-date and up over 30% in the past 12 months.
—Mark Faithfull, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
In early episodes, The Brothers Sun plays like an upbeat, if somewhat uneven, buddy comedy.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Jan. 2024
Through the rooms the white minders come and go
with their upbeat and their bags of blood.
—Christian Wiman, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Payton, 59, back from a one-year sabbatical from coaching, is the same upbeat, cocksure soul who generated so much success, including a Super Bowl crown, during 15 seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
—Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023
The Frenchie did his part to keep every upbeat at the sweet picnic by performing a trick show and posing for plenty of photos.
—David Chiu, Peoplemag, 12 July 2023
The group then took the stage, impressing all four judges — Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofía Vergara — as well as the audience with their upbeat, perfectly in-sync performance.
—Joelle Goldstein, Peoplemag, 14 June 2023
Fox is very adroit at remaining upbeat and keeping things light during our time together.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 11 May 2023
Adjective
As the night unfolded, custom martinis and margaritas were sipped, and caviar dress hors d'oeuvres were nibbled on, all while guests danced to upbeat DJ mixes by model Ruby Aldridge and Va$htie.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 19 Apr. 2024
Long Beach has evolved into an upbeat coastal retreat but still holds fast to its Long Island roots (think fried clams, fresh bagels, and Italian ices).
—Kira Turnbull, Travel + Leisure, 19 Apr. 2024
Swift is an expert at Trojan horse songs: Lyrics that cut hidden beneath an innocuous, upbeat melody.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024
UnitedHealth’s upbeat results drove up the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, investors are buying in, as allocations to stocks have surged since an October low on the back of upbeat projections for economic growth, according to Deutsche Bank.
—Sagarika Jaisinghani, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
And speaking of that clash of worldviews, find someone who loves you like this show loves to ironically juxtapose scenes of despair or stylized, gory violence with upbeat or wistful Forties and Fifties pop songs.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
O’Leary maintained an upbeat tone throughout his speech but acknowledged changing times, but did call on exhibitors to partner more with distributors during the marketing process.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
The album features a mix of ultra-confident, upbeat bangers and more vulnerable tracks — a product of her experiences on and off the road while making its songs.
—Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'upbeat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near upbeat
Cite this Entry
“Upbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upbeat. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
upbeat
1 of 2 noun
up·beat
ˈəp-ˌbēt 
: an unaccented beat in a musical measure
especially
: the last beat of the measure
upbeat
2 of 2 adjective
: optimistic, cheerful
a story with an upbeat ending
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