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Definition of upward mobility
: the capacity or facility for rising to a higher social or economic position
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Examples of upward mobility in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web And indeed, the Williams family lives every day — church, work, sports, school — as a model of upward mobility and black excellence.
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Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, "Festival sensation Waves channels family drama with maximal style: EW review," 13 Nov. 2019 Now the practice of splitting responsibilities with a colleague has become more likely to lead to upward mobility and shared promotions, rather than stalling out.
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Fortune, "One Silicon Valley Giant Is Still Refusing to Disclose Its Gender Pay Data," 14 Nov. 2019 Only in America would my hard work, tenacity and grit transform into a tool of upward mobility.
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NBC News, "Daniela Pierre-Bravo: This is what a Dreamer looks like," 12 Nov. 2019 Wilson thinks that upward mobility has come at enormous cost.
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Mary Carole Mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "Here’s how this August Wilson play at Everyman Theatre mirrors life in Baltimore today," 31 Oct. 2019 Yet his natty dress, uplifting talk of progress and cutting wit speak of upward mobility.
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The Economist, "IndiaIndia is stumbling because of its prime minister’s failure to curb his darker side," 24 Oct. 2019 This includes offering a pathway to upward mobility for low-wage workers and others the economy has tended to leave behind.
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Olivera Perkins, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Rising offers community meetings, online form for residents who can’t attend economic summit," 17 Sep. 2019 The book centers around Smarsh’s upbringing in Kansas and examines the challenges of the working class, despite cultural promises of upward mobility.
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Nicole Blackwood, chicagotribune.com, "Henry Louis Gates Jr., Rebecca Makkai and Sarah Smarsh win 2019 Tribune literary prizes," 15 Aug. 2019 An industry-wide benefits fund that tech companies like Postmates pay into would provide security and upward mobility to workers who have a wide range of circumstances and needs.
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Bastian Lehmann For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "Postmates CEO: Gig workers deserve a better deal than we have given them," 18 July 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'upward mobility.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for upward mobility
The first known use of upward mobility was in 1949
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