upgrade

1 of 2

noun

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād 

1

: an upward grade or slope

2

: increase, rise

3

: improvement sense 2b

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 improve (livestock) by use of purebred sires

b

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

c

: to raise the quality of

d

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

e

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

f

: to assign a less serious status to

upgraded the patient's condition to good

intransitive verb

: 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

upgradability noun

or upgradeability

ˌəp-ˌgrā-də-ˈbi-lə-tē 

upgradable adjective

or upgradeable

ˌəp-ˈgrā-də-bəl 

Synonyms

Noun

• acclivity
• ascent
• hill
• rise
• uphill
• uprise

Verb

• advance
• elevate
• promote
• raise

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

Need-to-have items, like roofs, will be more insulated than nice-to-have upgrades, Prchal thinks. —Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2025

And Horn will be running with a receiver group that got a pair of upgrades this offseason. —Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2025

Verb

The process resembles a video game where scoring points allows a player to upgrade their warrior, mecha or spacecraft to take on successively bigger opponents. —David Hambling, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025

Don’t miss the opportunity to upgrade your security at an incredible price. —Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 14 Apr. 2025

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