upstream

adverb or adjective

up·​stream ˈəp-ˈstrēm 

1

: in the direction opposite to the flow of a stream

2

: in or to a position within the production stream closer to manufacturing processes

… make most of its money upstream, selling cheap crude … to refineries …

—John Quirt

3

biochemistry : toward the beginning of a series of cellular processes : preceding a linked molecular event occurring in a sequence

Many signaling pathways possess intrinsic negative feedback by which a downstream event in a pathway turns off an upstream event.

—Harvey Lodish et al.

Examples of upstream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, the push for efficiency moves upstream to the supply chain as Cascale launches a strategic framework to help Asia-Pacific manufacturers move beyond fragmented regulatory hurdles. —Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 2 Apr. 2026

Lake Powell, located primarily in southern Utah, collects water from the states upstream of it — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico — and releases water to three states below — Arizona, Nevada and California. —Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 9 Mar. 2026

The Helen Gould docked just upstream from the iron bridge, across from the present-day Naval Armory/Herron High School. —IndyStar, 6 Mar. 2026

Several of this year’s finalists focus on improving how garments are made, targeting inefficiencies upstream in design, manufacturing and quality control. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 5 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for upstream

• abeam
• airstream
• bloodstream
• daydream
• downstream
• esteem
• extreme
• grapheme
• hakim
• hornbeam
• lexeme
• mainstream

Kids Definition

upstream

adverb or adjective

up·​stream ˈəp-ˈstrēm 

: at or toward the beginning of a stream : against the current

salmon swimming upstream

Medical Definition

upstream

adverb or adjective

up·​stream ˈəp-ˈstrēm 

1

: in a direction along a molecule of DNA or RNA opposite to that in which transcription and translation take place and toward the end having a phosphate group attached to the position labeled 5′ in the terminal nucleotide

… stretches of DNA upstream of genes—are known as promoters.

—Matt Ridley, Time

compare downstream sense 1

2

: toward the beginning of series of cellular processes : preceding a linked molecular event occurring in a sequence

It's equally important to focus on additional mechanisms that are upstream of amyloid formation and mechanisms downstream that are involved in the actual degenerative processes within neurons.

—Marc Tessier-Lavigne, quoted in Science