Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use upward in a sentence

40 example sentences · adverb, noun, adjective

Upward means in a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin. Example: “We ran upward.”

Examples of upward by meaning

adverbIn a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin.

  • We ran upward.
  • If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
  • We continue to move upward, climbing higher and higher across overgrown ledges along the wall.1989 May, Uwe George, “Venezuela's Islands in Time”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 535

adjectiveDirected toward a higher place.

  • with upward eye; with upward course
  • But the others regularly fail to materialize, so that when efficiency comes with upward redistribution—frequently though not inevitably—our recommendations become little more than a license for plunder.2024 March, Angus Deaton, “Rethinking My Economics”, in F&D Magazine

More sentences with upward

  • Police believe that upward of 30 local burglaries may have been carried out by the suspects.From the entry upward of
  • Yesterday saw a downward drift in share prices and an upward surge in commodities.From the entry downward drift
  • This stock’s fundamentals are awful, but its technicals are great – it’s trending upward, so I rate it a short-term buy.From the entry technicals
  • Removing the shoots on the side of the plant will encourage it to grow upward instead of bushing out.From the entry bush out
  • This table of prices shows no obvious pattern, but after transnumeration into a line graph, an upward trend becomes noticeable.From the entry transnumeration
  • Using your fingers, crumble the ingredients with the fingertips, lifting in an upward motion, until the mixture is sandy and resembles large breadcrumbs.From the entry crumble
  • The transfer of heat from a hot object by means of upward hot air currents from the object, is due to free convection.From the entry free convection
  • The upward angle made you look submissive which we know you are not!!!2026 April 26, @StoolCave, X (post), archived from the original on 20 May 2026. From the entry heightmaxx
  • Onward, upward, t’ward the treasure, filled with courage and endless hope.2024, Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, “Rise My Soul, the Lord Is Risen”, in Rise My Soul, performed by CityAlight…. From the entry t'ward
  • He riffed an upward arpeggio and in a smooth, slightly neutered baritone began singing “Baby Face.”2014, Edward Stewart, Privileged Lives, →ISBN. From the entry riff
  • A triple point may have a convex Mach stem, in which case the SS points upward.2012, George Emanuel, Shock Wave Dynamics: Derivatives and Related Topics, →ISBN, page 81. From the entry triple point
  • This is an angle shot from a low position with the camera looking upward.2012, Ray DiZazzo, Corporate Media Production, →ISBN, page 65. From the entry angle shot
  • Superlightning has been documented and recorded as shooting upward, beyond the cloud layer, thousands of feet.2008, Charles E. Anzalone, Galactic Travel at Warp Speed in Imaginary Time, Xlibris US, →ISBN, page 19. From the entry superlightning
  • Then comes the blade: The mercury swings sharply upward in the 20th century.2005 February 14, Antonio Regalado, “In Climate Debate, The 'Hockey Stick' Leads to a Face-Off”, in Wall Street Journal, →ISSN. From the entry hockey stick
  • You felt the power of the Olympic's twenty-nine boilers transmitted upward through the strakes of the hull.2003, Erik Larson, “Prologue: Aboard the Olympic”, in The Devil in the White City, Vintage Books, page 6. From the entry strake
  • Then, just as suddenly, the F-86 grabbed some air, leveled out, and turned slightly upward.2003, War, Literature, and the Arts - Volume 15, page 6. From the entry grab some air
  • Alternatively, you can pinch them upward like a ruffled pie crust edge.2002, Georgia Sargeant, Celie Fago, Livia McRee, Polymer Clay, →ISBN, page 33. From the entry stick together
  • What does that mean?” “It curls upward.” Nona let Maisie go.2000, David Leavitt, Martin Bauman; or, a Sure Thing. From the entry gay
  • He langlaufed across the small plateau that tilted gently upward, and paused on the ridge.1996, Jack Higgins, The Valhalla Exchange, page 251. From the entry langlauf
  • Without moving your head, move your gaze upward to look at twelve o’clock.1992, Herbert Benson with Eileen M. Stuart and Staff of the Mind/Body Medical Institute of New England Deaconess Hospital and Harvard…. From the entry o'clock
  • Three separate sets of gay shōchikubai motifs grow upward from the hem.1986, Reiko Mochinaga Brandon, Country Textiles of Japan: The Art of Tsutsugaki, Honolulu Academy of Arts, page 106. From the entry shōchikubai
  • The high citadel walls seemed to rise upward forever, melding into the stormclouded heights.1986 May, Esther M[ona] Friesner, “Battle”, in Spells of Mortal Weaving (Chronicles of the Twelve Kingdoms; 2), New York, N.Y.: Avon…. From the entry stormclouded
  • A miles-deep plug of dark and hot earth flew upward, followed by a tremendous expanding cloud.1984, Richard Monaco, Runes, →ISBN, page 64. From the entry supervolcano
  • It even seemed to come from the bottom of her eye upward, like a nictitating membrane.1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 406. From the entry nictitating
  • In general upward changes are bumpy; downward changes, including kick-downs, are O.K.1969, The Motor - Volume 135, page 73. From the entry kick-down
  • The gyrocabbie, wide-eyed, gazed after his fares for a moment, then hovered upward and away.1951, Isaac Asimov, “Hostess”, in Nightfall and Other Stories, Green City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., published 1969, page 76. From the entry gyrocab
  • He it is who sends the (in-coming) Prana (life-breath) upward and throws the (out-going) breath downward.1919, Swami Paramananda, transl., The Upanishads. From the entry prana
  • And Thane nodded and staggered blindly upward, only to sag again in a heap upon the veldt.1912, F[rancis] Bancroft, chapter III, in The Veldt Dwellers, 3rd edition, London: Hutchinson & Co. […], →OCLC, book IV, page 296. From the entry veldt
  • The upward dart of a droll, pointed moustache has been modern and whimsical and masqueradish.1908, Austin Brereton, The life of Henry Irving. From the entry masqueradish
  • The sails of fat-bellied ships go upward and flap signalling that time has come to bid adieu to the voyagers.2022, “Untold story of Odias who conquered Land of Gold way before Cholas”, in OrrisaPost. From the entry adieu
  • Their growth forms are distinctive--bald cypress limbs extending horizontally and pond cypress extending at a uniform upward angle.2016 November 3, Thomas E. Lodge, The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem, Fourth Edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 99. From the entry pond cypress
  • The large-volume ovarian cysts (Figs. 11.16– 11.19) that develop upward in the abdominal cavity may resemble mesocolic, mesenteric or mesosigmoidal cysts.2012, Armando Rossi, Giorgio Rossi, CT of the Peritoneum, →ISBN, page 292. From the entry mesosigmoidal
  • But they were wandering, and steadily upward.2012, James Oliver Curwood, The Golden Snare, The Floating Press, →ISBN, page 4. From the entry north of 60
  • If you drive over a speed bump, the left and right tires push the suspension upward at the same time.2011, Chuck Edmondson, “Steering and Suspension”, in Fast Car Physics, Baltimore, Md.: The Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 151. From the entry suspension
  • "There are only eight pictures to take in Bhalil," Mohammed announces confidently as we walk the narrow laneways ever upward.2009 February 12, John Baker, “Mohammed's tea ritual one truly sweet greeting”, in Toronto Star. From the entry laneways

Meaning of upward

  1. adverb In a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin.
  2. adverb In the upper parts; above.
  3. adverb Yet more; indefinitely more; above; over.

Full definition of upward

Questions about upward in a sentence

How do you use upward in a sentence?
Upward is used as an adverb, noun and adjective. For example: “We ran upward.”
What is a short sentence with upward?
“We ran upward.”
What does upward mean?
Upward means in a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: upward (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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