upright

adjective

up·right | \ ˈəp-ˌrīt

Definition of upright

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : perpendicular, vertical

b : erect in carriage or posture

c : having the main axis or a main part perpendicular upright freezer

2 : marked by strong moral rectitude an upright citizen

upright

adverb

Definition of upright (Entry 2 of 3)

: vertically upward : in an upright position

upright

noun

Definition of upright (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : the state of being upright : perpendicular a pillar out of upright

2 : something that stands upright especially : a football goalpost —usually used in plural

3 : upright piano

Other Words from upright Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about upright

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Choose the Right Synonym for upright

Adjective

upright, honest, just, conscientious, scrupulous, honorable mean having or showing a strict regard for what is morally right. upright implies a strict adherence to moral principles. a stern and upright minister honest stresses adherence to such virtues as truthfulness, candor, or fairness. known for being honest in business dealings just stresses conscious choice and regular practice of what is right or equitable. workers given just compensation conscientious and scrupulous imply an active moral sense governing all one's actions and painstaking efforts to follow one's conscience. conscientious in the completion of her assignments scrupulous in carrying out the terms of the will honorable suggests a firm holding to codes of right behavior and the guidance of a high sense of honor and duty. a difficult but honorable decision

Adjective

upright, honest, and just mean having or showing a great concern for what is right. upright means having high moral standards in all areas of life. She's an upright person and an example to us all. honest means dealing with others in a fair and truthful way. He is an honest merchant who wouldn't cheat anyone. just is used when a person's fairness comes from both conscious choice and habit. The principal is just to all students.

Examples of upright in a Sentence

Adjective

Put your seat back in the upright position. The container should be kept upright to prevent leaks.

Noun

The uprights of the structure were embedded in concrete.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Once dry, stand upright, directly on display surface, in dabs of royal icing. — Taylor Murray, Country Living, "Gingerbread Barn," 19 Nov. 2018 Apparently, to stand even somewhat upright after 7,000 years isn’t enough. — Bliss Broyard, Condé Nast Traveler, "I Took My Kids Out Of School for Three Months to Travel," 13 July 2018 The members of a barbershop quartet adjusted their boater hats and a six-piece band featuring a clarinet and an upright bass prepared to play. — Alex Vadukul, New York Times, "The Forgotten Entertainer Rag," 24 May 2018 There’s the trumpet, the upright bass, the saxophone. — Chris Haghirian, kansascity, "What a weekend: Chicano Batman, Marian Hill, Kevin Hart, Hembree | The Kansas City Star," 24 Apr. 2018 The 202 did away with fender arches and upright radiators, integrating the fenders into the bodywork with one continuous, flowing shape. — Blake Z. Rong, Popular Mechanics, "10 Innovations That Made the Modern Car," 4 Dec. 2018 The plane stayed upright, though, and the escape slides activated. — Amy Guthrie, Fox News, "All survive crash of Mexican jetliner, some walk from wreck," 1 Aug. 2018 Beatrice's was beige with an upright oval design and ribbon features that matched her nude Valentino Haute Couture dress. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie Cried Over Backlash for Their Royal Wedding Hats," 3 Aug. 2018 Later that year, the explorers - Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville, also discovered a rare 19th-century schooner sitting upright 500 feet under the waves of Lake Ontario. — Fox News, "Mysterious shipwreck reveals its secrets: Wreck may be Lake Erie’s oldest," 15 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Suddenly, my guide sat bolt upright and pointed downstream. — Austin Merrill, WSJ, "The Amazon: The Heart of the World," 3 Dec. 2018 Adding a set of wheels to the bottom of your shoes, which could start and stop unpredictably, may make staying upright a challenge. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Forget VR treadmills—Google patents motorized, omnidirectional VR sneakers," 19 Nov. 2018 Cages Cylindrical or square wire cages keep tomatoes upright without the need for tying the stems. — Doug Hall, Good Housekeeping, "The 4 Best Ways to Support Your Tomato Plants," 19 July 2018 Like most vertical rockets, the New Shepard is designed to take off upright from a launchpad at Blue Origin’s facilities in West Texas. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Blue Origin will push its rocket ‘to its limits’ with high-altitude emergency abort test today," 18 July 2018 Finally—finally—the Colts decided to truly invest in an offensive line that can keep Andrew Luck upright. — Tim Rohan, SI.com, "AFC South Offseason Report Cards: Jaguars Get Stronger, Titans Get Defensive, Texans Need Health and Colts Need Luck," 12 June 2018 The toe bones in children are curved while adults are not, meaning kids could walk upright but also gripped either trees or their mothers, researchers found. — Lilly Price, USA TODAY, "Ape-like toddlers climbed trees 3.3 million years ago, fossil suggests," 5 July 2018 Line the steamer insert with a layer of husks, then arrange tamales upright in the steamer, open sides up. — Amanda Garrity, Woman's Day, "Strawberry Tamales," 11 June 2018 Sometimes Mars sits bolt upright, with no seasons to mention. — The Economist, "Empty sky, empty Earth?," 5 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

On Sunday, Parkey’s 43-yard attempt in the closing seconds hit halfway up the upright and ricocheted off the crossbar before harmlessly falling to the ground. — Andrew Seligman, The Seattle Times, "Bears come to grips with cruel end to breakthrough season," 7 Jan. 2019 Blessed be the person who can fall asleep sitting upright while wrapped in a flimsy layer of polyester blanket that only covers approximately 1/3rd of the length of their legs. — Condé Nast Traveler, "5 Travel Kits that Will Actually Help You Sleep on a Plane," 22 Mar. 2018 Parachutes deploy to gently land the capsule, while the rocket reignites its engine to land upright on the ground. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Blue Origin will push its rocket ‘to its limits’ with high-altitude emergency abort test today," 18 July 2018 The upper-arm fracture forced him to sleep upright in a chair for a month to keep the massive cast suspended from the straps around his neck. — P.k. Daniel, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Union-Tribune All-Academic Team Captains for winter sports," 21 Mar. 2018 The stand keeps the phone upright and is supposed to kick it into a special software mode that seems like something close to a Google Smart Display. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Coming soon from Google: The Pixel 3, Google Home Hub, Pixel Slate, and more," 7 Oct. 2018 Aboveground, the plants produce 2- to 3-foot upright stems. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "How to Grow Fresh Mint That Won't Overrun Your Garden," 22 Aug. 2018 Vance officials say emergency responders arrived at the crash site to find the pilot sitting upright and drinking water with a farmer. — Fox News, "Air Force pilot ejects as jet trainer crashes in Oklahoma," 17 Aug. 2018 Finally, on the team’s 14th try, long snapper Tyler Ott split the uprights. — Mike Vorel, The Seattle Times, "Seahawks training camp Day 10: What happened, injury report, highlights and more," 7 Aug. 2018

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