above

adverb

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\ ə-ˈbəv

Definition of above

(Entry 1 of 4)

1a : in the sky : overhead the clouds above

b : in or to heaven

2a : in or to a higher place

b : higher on the same page or on a preceding page except as stated above

c : upstairs

d : above zero 10 degrees above

3 : in or to a higher rank or number 30 and above

4 archaic : in addition : besides

5 : upstage

above

preposition

Definition of above (Entry 2 of 4)

1a : in or to a higher place than : over a room above the store

b : upriver of anchored about 10 miles above the city

2a : superior to (as in rank, quality, or degree) A sergeant is above a corporal.

b : out of reach of above suspicion

c : in preference to puts his child's needs above his own needs

d : too proud or honorable to stoop to not above taking undue credit

3 : exceeding in number, quantity, or size : more than men above 50 years old

4 : as distinct from and in addition to heard the whistle above the roar of the crowd

above

noun

plural above

Definition of above (Entry 3 of 4)

1a : something that is above Select one of the above.

b : a person whose name is written above Contact any of the above for more information.

2a : a higher authority

b : heaven

above

adjective

Definition of above (Entry 4 of 4)

: written or discussed higher on the same page or on a preceding page Contact me at the above address.

Synonyms & Antonyms Using Above as an Adjective or Noun: Usage Guide More Example Sentences Learn More about above

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Using Above as an Adjective or Noun: Usage Guide

Noun

Although still objected to by some, the use of above as a noun to mean "something that is above" none of the above the above is Theseus's opinion — William Blake and as an adjective without the above reserve — O. W. Holmes †1935 I was brought up on the above words — Viscount Montgomery has been long established as standard.

Examples of above in a Sentence

Adverb up above and down below Temperatures range from 5 below to 5 above. Preposition He raised his arms above his head. They hung a mirror above the mantel. We rented an apartment above a restaurant. Temperatures were above average all week. men above 50 years old She values her private time above her fame. He puts his child's needs above his own. Noun in her dying days she was supposedly visited by an angel from above

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb The staff here clearly goes above and beyond to show travelers the magic of their country, both on property and on excursions throughout town. — Sarah Bruning, Travel + Leisure, "Top 5 India Resort Hotels," 8 July 2020 With one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year at hand in the Fourth of July, however, the mega-retailer seems to be going above and beyond, offering price cuts on a slew of our favorite things. — Nicole Briese, USA TODAY, "The 5 best Amazon deals you can get this Thursday," 2 July 2020 Watch Penn Badgley and Chace Crawford’s full Actors on Actors interview in the video above. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Penn Badgley Just Told Some Funny Stories About When He and Blake Lively Dated," 30 June 2020 In the video above, watch Matthew Broderick, who portrayed the title character in the 1986 teen comedy, reunite with co-stars Jennifer Grey, Alan Ruck, and Mia Sara for the final episode of Josh Gad's Reunited Apart series. — Rosy Cordero, EW.com, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," 28 June 2020 The video above gives you a tour of this route and there’s a map below for your reference. — John Pana, cleveland, "How to ride your bike from Mentor Marsh to Headlands Beach: See the 6-mile trip," 26 June 2020 Fulford talks about the experience that his family went through in the video above, and offers advice to the family of George Floyd. — Brianna Milord, The New Yorker, "Eric Garner’s Family Is Still Grieving," 12 June 2020 Watch the press conference live in the video above. — oregonlive, "Gov. Kate Brown announces framework for Phase 2 of Oregon’s coronavirus reopening: Watch Live," 3 June 2020 For their full stories, take a look at the video above. — Matt Simon, Wired, "16 Health Workers Talk About Their Battles With the Pandemic," 3 June 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition This summer, the entire Championship Series is being held at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah — 5,000 feet above sea level. — Jack Williams, The Arizona Republic, "Desert Vista alum Cade Van Raaphorst training in isolation for upcoming pro lacrosse event," 11 July 2020 Glances were exchanged, eyes visible just above mask level. — Steve Rubenstein, SFChronicle.com, "On the bright side: Scout sews goodwill with mass of masks; the summer school must go on," 11 July 2020 The 10-day average at the Bexar County index well fell to 659.8 feet above mean sea level, just below the Stage 1 trigger level Thursday of 660 feet. — Scott Huddleston, ExpressNews.com, "Drawn-out parched weather sends San Antonio area into Stage 1 water use restrictions," 9 July 2020 Amazon, which is traded in the NASDAQ Composite, is now worth more than $1.5 trillion, joining tech giants like Apple and Microsoft above that level. — Josh Rivera, USA TODAY, "Amazon stock hits its highest price, boosting the company's worth to more than $1.5T," 7 July 2020 Lake Erie rose less than an inch from its record-setting May level to 574.44 feet above sea level, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. — Laura Johnston, cleveland, "Great Lakes get some relief from high water, as Lake Erie level drops below record," 6 July 2020 The jobless rate is projected to decline only slowly thereafter, reaching 4.4% at the end of 2030, still above the pre-pandemic level of 3.5%. — Eric Martin, Bloomberg.com, "CBO Trims U.S. GDP Forecast for This Year, Lifts 2021 Projection," 5 July 2020 At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in vicious hand-to-hand combat on a ridge about 14,000-feet above sea level. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, "Why did India just ban TikTok?," 29 June 2020 Westerners living in the Rocky Mountain states at 4,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level may be at risk of contracting Colorado tick fever (CTF) virus. — Karen Pallarito, Health.com, "11 Tick-Borne Diseases You Need to Know About This Summer," 25 June 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun All of the above is to say: there's a mountain of content on HBO Max, and quite a bit of stuff that counts as both popular and critically acclaimed, but the service does an awful job of laying out a mat for new users to discover it. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "HBO Max is live: $15/mo for a massive library, significant headaches," 27 May 2020 For some of us, none-of-the-above is a viable option. — Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, "Who Can Beat Trump? Who Knows?," 20 Feb. 2020 The authentic visual above was posted by the climate scientist Ed Hawkins, from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. — Jeff Berardelli, CBS News, "2,000 years of Earth's climate in one simple chart – and the copycat that isn't what it seems," 30 Jan. 2020 To see images taken from high above was to realize this still novel technology might one day show far more than previously imagined. — Peter Manseau, Smithsonian, "Meet Mr. Mumler, the Man Who “Captured” Lincoln’s Ghost on Camera," 11 Oct. 2017 After the war, however, Roman coins (like the one above) match the signature of the silver mines in the Iberian Peninsula. — Lizzie Wade, Science | AAAS, "This coin reveals when Rome became an empire," 14 Aug. 2017 All of the above are made from chemicals or materials that are bad for the environment, so follow Forecastle's lead and stay away from the cliche party accessories. 5. — Bailey Loosemore, The Courier-Journal, "5 ways to help save the planet at Forecastle Festival," 6 July 2017 Above, 16 of our favorite makes (at every price point) of Mary Janes. — Rachel Waldman, Vogue, "Ditch Your Ballet Flats For Mary Janes," 28 June 2017 Above is Turkish coffee ice cream, Jivara-coffee Chantilly cream, ginger caramel, and chocolate fondant. — Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit, "5 Fancy Desserts from the Best Pastry Chefs in the Country," 21 Apr. 2017 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The top rental brand this year got high marks for its above-and-beyond service and a broad selection of high-quality vehicles. — Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, "The Top 5 Car-Rental Companies," 8 July 2020 Household income is below average for the state, the mayor observed, while the number of people with college degrees is above. — J. David Goodman, New York Times, "In West Texas, Lingering Distrust in Public Health Measures as Virus Spreads," 4 July 2020 Our mouths are already starting to water just looking at the above photo. — Perri Ormont Blumberg, Southern Living, "Funfetti Chocolate Cake and Cupcake Mix Has Officially Arrived," 10 July 2020 Prior to this report being made, police had arrested the three Cleveland boys in the above Lomond Boulevard report. — cleveland, "Three Cleveland teens arrested for thefts from cars: Shaker Heights police blotter," 10 July 2020 Craving an above-water all-inclusive bungalow with access to your own, private area in the Indian Ocean? — Kendall Cornish, Travel + Leisure, "These Are the 25 Most Romantic Islands in the World, According to Travelers," 8 July 2020 What’s even worse than all of the above is the notion of playing football in front of nobody. — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, "Is moving football to the spring really such a bad idea? Like it or not, it’s time to consider the option," 5 July 2020 The Democratic climate plan contained some wins for Casten, who has been a chief advocate for an all-of-the-above approach to zero-carbon energy sources that values nuclear power and carbon capture alongside wind and solar, a model that won out. — Abby Smith, Washington Examiner, "Daily on Energy: Centrist Democrat Sean Casten accuses GOP of choosing ‘suicide’ on climate," 1 July 2020 None of the above are particularly bold or controversial messages. — Nancy Benac, BostonGlobe.com, "Analysis: What Trump leaves unspoken carries consequences," 1 July 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'above.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for above

Adverb

Middle English above, aboven, going back to Old English abufan, from a- a- entry 1 + bufan "above" (akin to Old Saxon bi-oƀan, Middle Dutch bōven, Old Frisian bova, Middle High German bobene), from be- be- + ufan "above, from above," going back to Germanic *uban- (whence Old Saxon oƀana "from above," Old High German obana), from *ub- "above, on" + *-an-, adverbial suffix — more at over entry 1