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upper

1 American  
[uhp-er] / ˈʌp ər /

adjective

  1. higher, as in place, position, pitch, or in a scale: the upper register of a singer's voice.

    the upper stories of a house;

    the upper register of a singer's voice.

  2. superior, as in rank, dignity, or station.

  3. (of places) at a higher level, more northerly, or farther from the sea: upper New York State.

    the upper slopes of a mountain;

    upper New York State.

  4. Stratigraphy. Often Upper denoting a later division of a period, system, or the like.

    the Upper Devonian.

noun

  1. the part of a shoe or boot above the sole, comprising the quarter, vamp, counter, and lining.

  2. an upper berth.

  3. a gaiter made of cloth.

  4. Usually uppers

    1. an upper dental plate.

    2. an upper tooth.

  5. Informal. the higher of two bunks or berths.

idioms

  1. on one's uppers, reduced to poverty; without sufficient means.

    They are on their uppers but manage to hide the fact from their friends.
upper 2 American  
[uhp-er] / ˈʌp ər /

noun

Slang.

  1. a stimulant drug, especially an amphetamine.

  2. a pleasant or elating experience, person, or situation.

upper British  
/ ˈʌpə /

adjective

  1. higher or highest in relation to physical position, wealth, rank, status, etc

  2. (capital when part of a name) lying farther upstream, inland, or farther north

    the upper valley of the Loire

  3. (capital when part of a name) geology archaeol denoting the late part or division of a period, system, formation, etc

    Upper Palaeolithic

  4. maths (of a limit or bound) greater than or equal to one or more numbers or variables

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the higher of two objects, people, etc

  2. the part of a shoe above the sole, covering the upper surface of the foot

  3. extremely poor; destitute

  4. informal any tooth of the upper jaw

  5. Also called (esp US): up.  slang any of various drugs having a stimulant or euphoric effect Compare downer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
upper Scientific  
/ ŭp′ər /

  1. Being a later or more recent division of the geological or archaeological period named.

  2. Compare lower

upper More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing upper

Etymology

Origin of upper1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; up (adjective), -er 4

Origin of upper2

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; up + -er 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Led by their South Carolina-bound senior, the Trailblazers won the upper division title for the second time in four seasons with a gritty 69-62 victory at Toyota Arena in Ontario.

From Los Angeles Times

For industry insiders, "Sinners" may have the upper hand with SAG-AFTRA, which represents more than 160,000 members -- but that may not hold true in two weeks for the Academy Awards.

From Barron's

Yet, before she passes her high school threshold and dives into the brutal deep end of upper secondary education, it’s all cool.

From Salon

Street smarts may hold the upper hand for now.

From MarketWatch

A former official with the DoD, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that Anthropic appeared to have the upper hand in the fight.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.