upend
1516
novels about the lives, relationships, and problems of
MIDDLE-CLASS people in the US, such as Rabbit, Run. He won
a Pulitzer prize for Rabbit is Rich (1982) and again for Rabbit
at Rest (1991). His book The Witches of Eastwick was made
into a successful film.
up-end /ʌpˈend/ v [T] 1 to cause to stand on end or on any
part that does not usually stand on the floor 2 infml to knock
down: He upended his opponent with a single punch.
up-front¹ /ˌʌpˈfrʌnt/ adj [F] very direct and making no
attempt to hide one's meaning: He's very upfront about his
political views. → see also UP FRONT (FRONT¹)
upfront² adv 1 if you pay money upfront, you pay it before
any work has been done or before any goods are supplied:
He requires you to pay him upfront. 2 in football, if you play
upfront, you play in a FORWARD position
up-grade /ˌʌpˈgreɪd/ v 1 [T] to give a position of more
importance to (an employed person or a job): He's hoping to
be upgraded/to get his job upgraded. 2 [I;T] to improve
(something), especially in quality or effectiveness: You can
upgrade your 32K computer to 64K simply by adding an
expansion chip. | The course centre is in the process of upgrad-
ing its facilities. | At weekends standard-class passengers can
pay an extra £3 and upgrade to first-class seats. → opposite
DOWNGRADE
up-heav-al /ʌpˈhiːvəl/ n [C;U] (a) great change, especially
with much activity, confusion, and sometimes violence:
What an upheaval it was when we had to change offices/move
house. | a major political upheaval
up-hill /ˌʌpˈhɪl/ adj adv 1 (sloping or going) towards the top
of a hill: walking uphill | an uphill climb | [after n] the road
uphill 2 needing much effort; ARDUOUS: It's an uphill
struggle/task teaching them mathematics.
up-hold /ʌpˈhəʊld/ v -held /-held/ [T] 1 to defend (espe-
cially a right or principle) against attack; prevent from being
weakened or taken away: It's up to the government to uphold
the rights of individual citizens. 2 to declare to be right;
CONFIRM: The judge upheld the lower court's decision. —er n
up-hol-ster /ʌpˈhəlstər/ v [T] to provide (furniture) with
comfortable coverings and fillings —er n
up-hol-ster-y /ʌpˈhəʊlstəri/ n [U] 1 material that makes a
comfortable covering and filling for furniture 2 the trade of
an upholsterer
up-keep /ˈʌpkiːp/ n [U] [off] (the cost of) keeping something in
good condition and working order: The upkeep of this
car/house is terribly expensive.
up-lands /ˈʌpləndz/ n [P] the higher land in an area: broad
sunlit uplands | the upland areas of the country | an upland
species of bird
up-lift¹ /ˌʌpˈlɪft/ v [T] 1to encourage cheerful or spiritual
feelings in: uplifting words 2 fml or lit to raise high: Let your
voices be uplifted in song.
up-lift² /ˈʌplɪft/ n [U] 1 upward support: This new bra gives
you plenty of uplift. 2 (something which gives) a sense of
joy or moral improvement
up-light-er /ˈʌplaɪtər/ n a light placed at a low level to direct
light upwards → compare DOWNLIGHTER
up-load /ʌpˈləʊd/ v [I;T] if information, a computer program
etc uploads, or if you upload it, you move it from a small
computer to a computer network so that other people can
see it or use it: It might take a while for this to upload. →
opposite DOWNLOAD —upload /ˈʌpləʊd/ n: file uploads
up-'market also upscale AmE — adj being or using goods
produced to meet the demand of the higher social groups:
an up-market area of town | the up-market model of the car;
with a larger engine → compare DOWN-MARKET
up-on /əˈpɒn||əˈpɑːn/ prep fml on: They sat upon the ground. |
travelling upon foot | We acted upon your advice. → see also
ON, once upon a time (ONCE), upon my word (WORD)
up-per¹ /ˈʌpər/ adj [A] 1 in a higher position (than some-
thing lower): the upper arm | Passengers may smoke only on
the upper deck of the bus. | a job in the upper echelons (=of
very high rank) of the Civil Service 2 farther from the sea:
the upper reaches (=areas) of the Nile → opposite LOWER
upper² n 1 the top part of a shoe above the HEEL and
SOLE 2 (often pl.) slang any illegal drug which produces a feeling
of energy or happiness, especially an AMPHETAMINE → com-
pare DOWNER 3 on one's uppers BrE old-fash infml extremely
poor
upper 'case n [U] letters written or printed in à large form
(such as A, B, C) rather than in the usual small (LOWER CASE)
form (such as a, b, c) —upper case adj
upper 'class also upper classes pl. — n [the S+sing./pl. v]
the highest social class; a small social class whose members
often have noble titles (in Britain and some other European
countries), own a great deal of land, and are usually thought
of as being very rich: She's a typical product of the upper
class/classes. —upper-class adj: sometimes derog: an upper-
class accent → compare LOWER CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS, WORK-
ING CLASS; see WORKING CLASS (USAGE)
up-per-class-man /'ʌpəklɑ:smən||-ærklæs-/, -wom-an
/,wʊmən/ fem — n pl. -men /mən/ AmE a student in the last
two years of a school or college, i.e. a JUNIOR or SENIOR →
compare UNDERCLASSMAN
upper 'crust adj, n [the S+sing./pl. v] infml, often humor the upper
class
up-per-cut /'ʌpəkʌt||-ər-/ n (in BOXING) a blow with the
hand moving upward to the chin
Upper 'East Side an area of New York City in Manhattan.
It is an expensive area to live in, and there are many
MUSEUMS there, including the Metropolitan Museum and
the Guggenheim Museum.
upper 'hand n [the+S] a position of advantage; control: After
many hours fighting we began to gain/get the upper hand.
(=started to win the fight)
Upper 'House also Upper 'Chamber n the part of a
parliament, in any system where there are two separate
law-making groups, which has fewer members and usually
has less real power than the LOWER HOUSE. For example, the
HOUSE OF LORDS is the Upper House of the British Parlia-
ment, and the SENATE is the Upper House of the US
Congress.
upper middle 'class n [S +sing./pl. v] a social class that is
considered to be higher than the middle class but not as high
as the upper class, and which in Britain is thought to include
professional people such as SURGEONS, company directors
and important CIVIL SERVANTS —upper middle-class adj
up-per-most /'ʌpəməʊst||-pər-/ also up-most /'ʌpməʊst
adj, adv in the highest or strongest position: the question that
is/comes uppermost in our minds (=that we think of most)
upper 'sixth n [C+sing/pl. v] (sometimes cap.) the second and final
year of the SIXTH FORM in British schools → compare LOWER
SIXTH
Upper Vol-ta /ˌʌpəˌvɒltə||ˌʌpərvɔːltə/ the former name
for BURKINA FASO
Upper 'West Side an area of New York City in Manhattan.
It was once a rather poor area, but is becoming more
expensive to live in. Columbia University, the Lincoln
Center, and the Cathedral of St, John the Divine are in this
area.
up-pi-ty /'ʌpɪti/ also up-pish /'ʌpɪʃ/ adj infml derog behav-
ing
as if one were better than other people or more important
than one really is
up-right¹ /'ʌp-raɪt/ adj apprec 1 (sitting or standing) straight
up, especially habitually: a tall upright old man | She sat bolt
upright. (=very straight) 2 honest, fair, responsible etc: an
upright citizen —ly adv —ness n [U]
upright² adv straight up; not bent
upright³ n a supporting beam which stands straight up
upright pi'ano also upright n a piano with strings set in an
up-and-down direction → compare GRAND PIANO
up-ris-ing /'ʌpˌraɪzɪŋ/ n an act of the ordinary people sud-
denly and violently opposing those in power; REBELLION: The
rebel leaders seized power in an armed uprising.
up-roar /'ʌp-rɔːr/ n [S;U] confused noisy activity, especially
with shouting and angry words: There was uproar in Parlia-
ment when the minister made his controversial statement.
The whole place was in an uproar (over his statement).
up-roar-i-ous /ʌpˈrɔːriəs/ adj 1 very noisy, especially with
laughter 2 very amusing; causing loud laughter: an uproari-
ous joke —ly adv .