up

1 of 6

adverb

1
a(1)
: in or into a higher position or level
especially : away from the center of the earth
(2)
: from beneath the ground or water to the surface
(3)
: from below the horizon
(5)
: in or into an upright position
sit up
especially : out of bed
b
: upward from the ground or surface
pull up a daisy
c
: so as to expose a particular surface
2
: with greater intensity
speak up
3
a
: in or into a better or more advanced state
b
: at an end
your time is up
c
: in or into a state of greater intensity or excitement
d
: to or at a greater speed, rate, or amount
prices went up
e
: in a continual sequence : in continuance from a point or to a point
from third grade up
at prices of $10 and up
up until now
4
a(1)
: into existence, evidence, prominence, or prevalence
(2)
: into operation or practical form
b
: into consideration or attention
bring up for discussion
5
: into possession or custody
6
a
: entirely, completely
button up your coat
b
used as an intensifier
clean up the house
7
: in or into storage : by
lay up supplies
8
a
: so as to arrive or approach
b
: in a direction conventionally the opposite of down:
(1)
: to windward
(2)
(3)
: to or at the top
(4)
: to or at the rear of a theatrical stage
9
: in or into parts
10
: to a stop
usually used with draw, bring, fetch, or pull
11
: for each side
the score is 15 up

up

2 of 6

adjective

1
a
: risen above the horizon
the sun is up
b
c
: being out of bed
d
: relatively high
the river is up
was well up in her class
e
: being in a raised position : lifted
windows are up
f
: being in a state of completion : constructed, built
g
: having the face upward
h
: mounted on a horse
a new jockey up
i
: grown above a surface
the corn is up
j(1)
: moving, inclining, or directed upward
the up escalator
(2)
: bound in a direction regarded as up
2
a(1)
: marked by agitation, excitement, or activity
(2)
: positive or upbeat in mood or demeanor
b
: being above a former or normal level (as of quantity or intensity)
attendance is up
the wind is up
c
: exerting enough power (as for operation)
sail when steam is up
d
: ready
specifically : highly prepared
e
: going on : taking place
find out what is up
3
a
: risen from a lower position
men up from the ranks
b
: being at the same level or point
did not feel up to par
c(1)
: well informed : abreast
up on the news
(2)
: being on schedule
up on his homework
d
: being ahead of one's opponent
4
a
: presented for or undergoing consideration
contract up for negotiation
also : charged before a court
up for robbery
b
: being the one whose turn it is
you're up next

up

3 of 6

preposition

1
a
used as a function word to indicate motion to or toward or situation at a higher point of
went up the stairs
b
: up into or in the
was hid away up garretMark Twain
2
a
: in a direction regarded as being toward or near the upper end or part of
lives a few miles up the coast
walked up the street
b
: toward or near a point closer to the source or beginning of
sail up the river
3
: in the direction opposite to
sailed up the wind

up

4 of 6

noun

1
: one in a high or advantageous position
2
: an upward slope
3
: a period or state of prosperity or success
4
5
: a fundamental quark that has an electric charge of +2/3 and that is one of the constituents of a nucleon

up

5 of 6

verb

upped ˈəpt How to pronounce up (audio) or in intransitive verb sense 2 up; upped; upping; ups or in intransitive verb sense 2 up

intransitive verb

1
a
: to rise from a lying or sitting position
b
: to move upward : ascend
2
used with and and another verb to indicate that the action of the following verb was either surprisingly or abruptly initiated
he up and quit his job

transitive verb

1
: raise, lift
2
a
: to advance to a higher level:
(1)

UP

6 of 6

abbreviation

Upper Peninsula (of Michigan)
Phrases
up against
: confronted with : face-to-face with
the problem we are up against
up to
1
: capable of performing or dealing with
feels up to the task
2
: engaged in
what is he up to
3
: being the responsibility of
it's up to me

Examples of up in a Sentence

Adverb The land rises up from the valley. She stood beneath the window and called up to her friend. Please pick your clothes up off the floor. We watched the sun come up. He held up his hand. We stored the boxes up in the attic. She stuck a notice up on the wall. What's going on up there? He looked up at the stars. The cards were on the table facing up. Adjective The candy is up on the top shelf. The window is already up. Your package is up at the front desk. We were up near the stage. Are the kids up yet? We are up every morning at six. I was up all night studying for the test. Gas prices are up again. Preposition He climbed up the ladder. She had to walk her bike up the hill. The bathroom is up the stairs. Go up the street and turn left. We walked up the street to meet them. They live just up the block from us. I paddled the canoe up the river. The ship sailed up the coast. Her office is all the way up the hall on the right. He paced up and down the hall, waiting for news about his wife's operation. Verb climbing fuel prices have forced the delivery company to up its prices the road constantly ups and downs as it makes its way over the hills See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
By October of this year, the typical rate for a 30-year loan had soared past 8%, up from 6.4% in January. Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 1 Dec. 2023 About 26% of respondents were familiar with the term, up from 22% in 2022 and way up from 17% in 2013. Anne Field, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 Pilgrim’s Pride’s profit margin rose to 22 cents per pound, up from 12 cents. H. Claire Brown, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023 Currently, 27% of new vehicle sales in the state are zero-emission vehicles, up from 5% when Newsom took office. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2023 Within energy communities, the report said, announcements of clean investments grew to an average of $5 billion per month after the IRA was enacted, up from $2 billion beforehand in those areas and $2.5 billion in the rest of the country. Brian Cheung, NBC News, 29 Nov. 2023 Apple got 22% of its sales from that category last year, up from less than 10% a decade ago. Mark Gurman, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2023 Prices, already sky-high, have gotten even higher, up nearly 40 percent over the past three years. Ben Casselman, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2023 San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Second Ave., Downtown. $42.50 and up. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023
Adjective
Before contact with the host cell, the spike shifts from a down to an up conformation, allowing binding and enabling infection of the cell. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023 Note the up move in rates on Friday (May 5) (gold) after the release of the payroll report vs. the Wednesday (May 3) (gray) levels. Robert Barone, Forbes, 6 May 2023 Texas Tech runs an up tempo offense that led the country in plays last season, has a 6-foot-5 vertical threat, speedy slot receiver and 6-foot-9 tight end. oregonlive, 8 Sep. 2023 The new rules force council members into an up or down vote. Joseph D. Bryant | Jbryant@al.com, al, 27 June 2023 Although each stock reflects many factors and different conditions, the lack of buying interest on an up day for each of the major indexes is troubling. John Navin, Forbes, 17 July 2023 And if not, pick some up scapes at your local farmers' market. Christopher Michel, Country Living, 13 July 2023 If the suede is matted, brush in the up direction to lift the fibers and the stain. Taryn Mohrman, Good Housekeeping, 20 Apr. 2023 Series Mania Expands Its Co-Production Drive Unlike Mip-TV, Series Mania is not much of a sales market but rather a huge up-stream financing and co-production forum. John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023
Preposition
The former, from 1957, drew 42.2 million streams (up 62%) worldwide in the tracking week, while the latter, released in 2014, logged 35.6 million (up 57%). Gary Trust, Billboard, 4 Dec. 2023 In one scene, Keoghan watches Elordi masturbate in a bathtub and afterward is seen licking up Elordi’s semen around the tub’s drain. Anna Tingley, Variety, 4 Dec. 2023 But these usually happen on the heads of hair chameleons like Kim Kardashian and Megan Fox, who are known for switching up their hairstyles and colors all the time as is. Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 4 Dec. 2023 At the close of the piece, the Jews rise up in defiance, singing in unison the Hebrew prayer Shema Yisrael. John Adams, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 In anticipation of the counteroffensive, the effort was scaled up with one or more battalions of about 600 Ukrainian soldiers cycling through at a time. Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023 In video widely circulated on social media, Aimaq could be seen climbing up the bleachers before reaching a young man — who was considerably shorter than the 6-foot-11 player. David K. Li, NBC News, 23 Nov. 2023 Make sure to stop by their storefront over the next month—Lum notes the team has plenty more holiday homewares surprises up their sleeve. Liam Hess, Vogue, 23 Nov. 2023 Expect deals to go live during the pregame and postgame shows, with new deals also popping up during half-time. Jeremy Wilson, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023
Verb
From the Kardashian-Jenners to Jodie Turner-Smith; Taylor Russell to Hailey Bieber, those who subscribe to the trend cycle have been upping their squatting regimes and feeling the breeze on their buttocks this year. Alice Newbold, Vogue, 24 Nov. 2023 Traders now expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by nearly a full percentage point next year, upping their bets after consumer prices didn't rise in October. Eric Wallerstein, WSJ, 14 Nov. 2023 We’re set to clock in the warmest year on record, thanks to climate change, and that’s had a major impact on industries that can’t up stakes and move to avoid it—like the winemaking business. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 12 Nov. 2023 In 2022, the championship game had been relegated to a noon start time, outside of CBS Sports’ primetime window, until one of the NWSL’s sponsors upped its media investment prompting the network to shift the game to the more desirable 8 p.m. Paolo Confino, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2023 Thanks to the treasure trove of TikTok tutorials, many of us have been able to up our DIY hair game — so these sales couldn't be more helpful. Shanna Shipin, Allure, 8 Nov. 2023 And then rising interest rates led real estate owners to drop rent and sell office space for cheap—upping competition for WeWork. Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023 Endeavor agent Ari Emanuel went back to HBO to up its offer, but the cabler held fast to its commitment to a pilot only. Peter Biskind, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Nov. 2023 In doing so, the union managed to pressure Ford into upping wage increases to nearly triple its original 9% offer, Vincent said. Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 26 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

partly from Middle English up upward, from Old English ūp; partly from Middle English uppe on high, from Old English; both akin to Old High German ūf up and probably to Latin sub under, Greek hypo under, hyper over — more at over

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Preposition

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1536, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1643, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of up was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near up

Cite this Entry

“Up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/up. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

up

1 of 5 adverb
1
a
: in or to a higher position or level
especially : away from the center of the earth
held up my hand
b
: from beneath a surface (as ground or water)
pulling up weeds
c
: from below the horizon
watched the moon come up
d
: in or into an upright position
stand up
e
: out of bed
stayed up late
2
: with greater force
speak up
3
a
: in or into a better or more advanced state
worked our way up in the world
b
: at an end
our time was up
c
: in or into a state of greater activity
stir up a fire
d
: to or at a greater rate, speed, or amount
prices went up
4
a
: into existence, evidence, or knowledge
the missing ring turned up
b
: into consideration
brought the matter up
5
: into possession or control
gave himself up
6
: entirely, completely
eat it up
the house burned up
7
: in or into storage
lay up supplies
put our boat up for the winter
8
: so as to arrive or approach
came up the drive
9
: in or into parts
tear up paper
10
: to a stop
pull up
drew up at the curb
11
: for each side
score was 15 up

up

2 of 5 adjective
1
a
: risen above the horizon or ground
the sun was up
b
: being out of bed
c
: higher than usual
the river is up
prices are up
d
: raised so as to be open : lifted
windows are up
e
: put together : built
the house is up
f
: grown above a surface
the corn is up
g
: moving or going upward
the up escalator
2
a
: being on one's feet and busy
was eager to be up and doing
b
: well prepared
the team was up for the game
c
: going on : taking place
find out what is up
3
: well informed
always up on the news
4
: being ahead of an opponent
was three games up in the series
5
a
: presented for or under consideration
up for reelection
b
: charged before a court
was up for robbery
c
: being the one whose turn it is
you're up next

up

3 of 5 preposition
(ˌ)əp,
ˈəp
1
: to, toward, or at a higher point of
up the hill
2
a
: toward the beginning of
going up the river
b
: toward the northern or upper end or part of
sailed up the coast
3
: along the course of
walking up the street

up

4 of 5 noun
ˈəp
1
: an upward course or slope
2
: a period or state of success
had had my ups and downs

up

5 of 5 verb
upped or in sense 1 up; upped; upping; ups or in sense 1 up
1
: to act suddenly or surprisingly
up and left town
2
: to rise from a lying or sitting position
3
: to move or cause to move upward : ascend, raise
upped the prices

Medical Definition

UP

abbreviation

More from Merriam-Webster on up

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