upper

Syllables: up·perUK/ˈʌpə//ˈʌpɚ/

upper adjective: at a higher physical position, level, rank or order.

Image: Prosopee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Adjective

upper (comparative (rare) uppermore, superlative uppermost)

At a higher physical position, level, rank or order.
Situated on higher ground, further inland, more upstream, or more northerly.
Younger, more recent.
Of or pertaining to a secondary school.

Noun

upper (plural uppers)

A stimulant, such as amphetamine, that increases energy and decreases appetite.
- Eye Girl is very moody. She is always zooted up on some really foul combination of uppers and downers and Rollerblading. Her bouts of Rollerblading seem to coincide with fights with Eye Guy.1997, Maggie Estep, Diary of an Emotional Idiot: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harmony Books, →ISBN, page 6
- Say, for example, a person starts with the use of a downer that reduces any anxiety and produces a sense of relaxation. When their energy levels drop, they take a stimulant in order to continue participating in the party or another event. This creates a cycle that could lead to significant drug use...2024 April 10 [2020 August 27], Nick B., “Which Drugs Are Uppers And Downers?”, in The Freedom Center, archived from the original on 21 Feb 2025
Antonyms:

downer
1. Anything that cheers one up.
  - Patrick was a cabbie & a dispatcher at Yellow Cab & when we got to the church where the [funeral] services were being held, the cabbies came out in force for Pat & there were at least 30 cabs pulling into the church parking lot. It was a real upper for a lot of us.1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
The upper portion of something.
- The slewing ring is basically a large bearing upon which the upper is mounted. The outer race of the slewing ring is bolted to the upper, and the inner race is bolted to the car-body.1992, Organizational, Direct Support, and General Support, page 5
- These lines, GH and PC, are cut when the outline of the upper is cut out.2012, Reginald Laubin, Gladys Laubin, The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use
1. (shoemaking) The piece of material that forms the top part of a shoe or boot above the sole.
  - Holonyms: shoe, boot
  - genuine leather upper / balance manmade [label on a shoe]
2. (footwear) The Y-shaped strap on flip-flops.
Someone with higher social standing
- Thus a vicious circle is established: the uppers offer participation, and the lowers, feeling persecuted, withdraw.1993, Larry Hirschhorn, Carole K. Barnett, The Psychodynamics of Organizations
1. A senior student.
  - Each Upper had his private Fag; but general fagdom consisted of obedience to the demand of every Upper, no matter in whose House he happened to be.1895, Edward Parry Eardley-Wilmot, E. C. Streatfield, Charterhouse, page 64
  - It is advisable, for example, to learn the words to the school loyalty and to “Fair Harvard” in the event that you are “asked” to give an impromptu “concert” in the Yard for the benefit of the Uppers.2016, The Best of the Harvard Lampoon: 140 Years of American Humor
That which is higher, contrasted with the lower.
- Next, take up slack equally on the two uppers until they are snug.1984, Robert Forrest Burgess, Handbook of trailer sailing, page 90
- During the seventh week, the limbs also rotate laterally in the uppers and medially in the lowers.2009, Michael A. Alexander, Dennis J. Matthews, Pediatric Rehabilitation: Principles & Practice, page 361
1. A tooth in the upper jaw.
  - In the lingualized type of occlusion, contact of the lingual cusps of the uppers against the semianatomic teeth on the lowers will be seen in lateral, protrusive, and eccentric movements.2009, Arun K. Garg, Implant Dentistry, page 165
  - These reentrant folds, especially those on the buccal side of the uppers and the lingual side of the lowers, are quickly isolated by wear into infundibula within lakes of dentin.2010, Peter S. Ungar, Mammal Teeth: Origin, Evolution, and Diversity, page 212
2. A denture or retainer for the teeth in the upper jaw.
  - Treatment was continued until November, 1909, when a retainer was placed in position in the lower, consisting of bands round the lower first molars and a wire passing lingually round all the teeth. The upper was retained by means of a plate with wires wires passing behind the upper first molars and...1912, Dental Record
  - The lower (according to the patient) was perfect, but the upper was bad, and the dentist was going to make the upper again.1941, Cal - Volumes 4-6, page 6
3. An upper berth or bunk.
  - The Railroad Company further averred that it operated sleeping cars over its system of more than 7,000 miles of interstate roads, and that the Interstate Commerce Commission had prescribed rates for each of said sleeping car units on trains running to and from the state of Wisconsin. The rate fixed...1926, United States. Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court Reports - Volume 59, page 1423
  - But trains have changed. Gone are the uppers and lowers, partitions and cranks, and the green velour; only the porter remains, the same man, I think, a black man with palms the color of shrimp and a neck swollen with dislike.2011, Walker Percy, The Moviegoer
(Taoism) A spiritual passageway through which consciousness can reach a higher dimension.
- The 'upper' is one of nine apertures through which consciousness can leave the body at death (utkrantih).2005, Shingo Einoo, Genesis and Development of Tantra, page 128
- When the Tao Te Ching says: “In thought, you can see the cavity,” it is referring to what the Triplex Unity describes as “When the upper is closed, we call it existence; when the lower is closed, we call it nothingness.”2005, Holding Yin, Embracing Yang

Verb

upper (third-person singular simple present uppers, present participle uppering, simple past and past participle uppered)

(rare) To fix an upper onto a shoe.
- No, that is where the job rating comes in. For example, the job of uppering the shoe, which is placing the gum upper on the last, carries a much higher rate than that of wiping the soapstone off the upper.1935, Douglas Gordon, “The Problems of a Major Methods Change as Seen by a Methods Man”, in Personnel Series, volume 17, American Management Association
(nonstandard) To raise.
- Then, when a galaxy is forming and gets its relatively small black hole, it becomes responsible for uppering the amount of dark matter closer to the centre2006 February 22, Hans Aberg, “Dark matter: hot and fast?”, in sci.astro.research (Usenet)

upper meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

upper in Hindi

upper, over: तुंग tuṅg
upper: ऊपरी ūprī, उत्तरी uttarī

upper in Tamil

மேலான, மேல்

upper in Urdu

upper: اتری uttarī

upper in Bengali

upper, higher: ঊর্ধ্বতন urddhoton
upper, upward: উপর upor
upper: ঊর্ধ্ব urddho

More languagesFewer languages

upper in Telugu: మేలు mēlu, పై pai, మీ mī
upper in Malayalam: ഉത്തര uttara
upper in Kannada: ಮೇಲಿನ, ಮೇಲುಗಡೆಯ, ಮೇಲು ದರ್ಜೆಯ, ಮೇಲು ವರ್ಗದ
upper in Punjabi: ਉਤਲਾ utalā, اتلا utlā
upper in Gujarati: ઉપલા
upper in Sanskrit: उत्तर uttara
upper in Arabic: أَعْلَى ʔaʕlā, عُلْيَا ʕulyā, عُلْوِيّ ʕulwiyy, فَوْقَانِيّ fawqāniyy
upper in Persian: بالاتر bâlâtar

Examples of upper in a sentence

It is critical to know which drugs are uppers and downers to avoid this combination.2024 April 10 [2020 August 27], Nick B., “Which Drugs Are Uppers And Downers?”, in The Freedom Center, archived from the original on 21 Feb...
The uppers of his patent-leather shoes were hidden by fawn spats.1930, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 4, in The Maltese Falcon, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, page 52:
Periodically check the bite with the uppers and lowers to ensure that your actor's mouth will close correctly.2012, Todd Debreceni, Special Make-up Effects for Stage & Screen:
Considering the badly decayed condition of the Chief's other teeth, I recommended removal of what remained of the uppers, followed by a “full plate” after healing.2014, Jake Jacobson, Alaska Tales: Laughs and Surprises:

All 40 example sentences with upper

Antonyms of upper

Forms of upper

Adjective
superlative	uppermost
comparative (rare)	uppermore
Noun
plural	uppers
Verb
third-person singular present	uppers
present participle	uppering
past participle	uppered
past	uppered

Plural of upper: uppers

Origin of upper

Inherited from Middle English upper. By surface analysis, up + -er.

Words formed from upper

Phrases with upper

151 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with upper

Questions about upper

What does upper mean?: Upper means at a higher physical position, level, rank or order.
What is upper in Hindi?: Upper in Hindi is तुंग (tuṅg), ऊपरी (ūprī), उत्तरी (uttarī). See Upper meaning in Hindi.
How do you use upper in a sentence?: It is critical to know which drugs are uppers and downers to avoid this combination.
What part of speech is upper?: Upper can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce upper?: Upper is pronounced /ˈʌpə/ (UK).

Words near upper in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-upper.ogg.

Cite this entry: “upper.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/upper. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.