upward mobility

noun

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of upward mobility

: the capacity or facility for rising to a higher social or economic position

—

upwardly mobile

adjective

Recent Examples of upward mobility from the Web

There’s something about that puritanical narrative of progress and upward mobility and work ethic that the glorification of abstinence fits pretty neatly into.

— jaime green, GQ, "Leslie Jamison Wants You to Rethink Your Drunk Literary Heroes," 2 Apr. 2018
That discrepancy leads to less community involvement, feelings of estrangement, and limited upward mobility.

— jake bullinger, Outside Online, "When Skiing Collides with Immigration Politics," 2 Apr. 2018
Asian immigrants have much higher levels of upward mobility than other groups, but Asian children whose parents were born in the U.S. had rates similar to white people.

— jerry large, The Seattle Times, "Upward mobility is especially tough for black boys in U.S. Here’s why.," 22 Mar. 2018
As for what accounts for the disparities in upward mobility, the researchers do not have a clear answer.

— the washington post, AL.com, "Black boys from wealthy families grow up to make less than rich, white neighbors, study finds," 19 Mar. 2018
Archie was relatable to audience members who felt stuck in dead end jobs with little hope of upward mobility, and who were similarly bewildered by the new rules of political correctness.

— sascha cohen, Smithsonian, "How Archie Bunker Forever Changed in the American Sitcom," 21 Mar. 2018
In addition, young ambitious lawmakers have been frustrated that Pelosi and her other long-serving colleagues in leadership have closed off avenues for upward mobility.

— matthew green, Washington Post, "Is Nancy Pelosi unpopular because she’s a woman — or because she was speaker of the House?," 20 Mar. 2018
Younger people want reforms, a change of the guard, upward mobility for themselves.

— fred weir, The Christian Science Monitor, "For Putin, an election win will be easy. The next six years, a lot harder.," 16 Mar. 2018
Whether this kind of upward mobility is still possible today given the changes to our economy and culture is an open question.

— jason l. riley, WSJ, "Lessons From the Rise of America’s Irish," 13 Mar. 2018

These 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.