upgrade

1 of 2

noun

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād 

1

: an upward grade or slope

a slight upgrade in the driveway

2

: increase, rise

was failing but is now on the upgrade

3

: improvement sense 2b

software/system upgrades

a room upgrade

upgrade

2 of 2

verb

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād  ˌəp-ˈgrād 

upgraded; upgrading; upgrades

transitive verb

: to raise or improve the grade of: such as

a

: to advance to a job requiring a higher level of skill especially as part of a training program

b

: to raise the quality of

c

: to raise the classification and usually the price of without improving the quality

d

: to extend the usefulness of (something, such as a device)

e

: to assign a less serious status to

upgraded the patient's condition to good

f

: to improve (livestock) by use of purebred sires

intransitive verb

1

: to replace something (such as software or an electronic device) with a more useful version or alternative

Upgrading to a new operating system can make people anxious, even under the best of circumstances.

—Macworld

2

: to get something of better quality than the original

We were able to upgrade to first class seats.

upgradability noun

or upgradeability

ˌəp-ˌgrā-də-ˈbi-lə-tē 

upgradable adjective

or upgradeable

ˌəp-ˈgrā-də-bəl 

Synonyms of upgrade

Noun

• hill
• inclination
• climb
• incline
• ascent

Verb

• promote
• elevate

Examples of upgrade in a Sentence

Noun

a slight upgrade in the roadway

The hotel offered us a room upgrade.

Verb

This course will help you to upgrade your computer skills.

They've upgraded the quality of their service.

The city is upgrading the sewage treatment plant.

The office is upgrading the telephone system.

They upgraded the hotel to attract more business patrons.

We were able to upgrade to first class.

We had reserved a double room, but the hotel upgraded us to a suite.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Google will pay an additional $190 million to Entergy for transmission system upgrades needed to serve the project. — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026

Those upgrades, though, come with a big price tag, and will carry the area into a future that is still rife with uncertainty. — Alex Hager, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026

Verb

Its eight digesters are designed to generate more than 4,400 standard cubic feet per minute of biogas, which will then be upgraded to pipeline-quality renewable natural gas. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2026

JetBlue unveiled its new BlueFirst cabin, featuring larger seats, priority perks, upgraded dining and interactive seatback screens. — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1901, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for upgrade

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

Kids Definition

upgrade

1 of 2 noun

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād 

1

: an upward grade or slope

2

: rise entry 2 sense 4

crime has been on the upgrade

upgrade

2 of 2 verb

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād  ˌəp-ˈgrād 

1

: to raise to a higher grade or position

2

: to improve or replace especially software or a device for increased usefulness

upgradability noun

or upgradeability

ˌəp-ˌgrād-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

upgradable adjective

or upgradeable

ˌəp-ˈgrād-ə-bəl 

Medical Definition

upgrade

transitive verb

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād, ˌəp-ˈ 

upgraded; upgrading

1

: to assign a less serious status to

upgraded the patient's condition from fair to good

2

: to reclassify (as a cancer, concussion, or bone fracture) to a more serious grade when the grades are numbered from least to most serious