UPPER


Meaning of UPPER in English

I. ˈəpə(r) adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from uppe up + -er — more at up

1. : relatively high in physical position: as

a.

(1) : occupying high ground

keep the hills and upper regions — Shakespeare

(2) : farther inland

the upper Mississippi

carried squared timbers from the upper lakes lumber ports to the St. Lawrence — American Guide Series: Michigan

(3) usually capitalized : living on higher ground, farther inland, farther upstream, or farther north than others of the same group

the Upper Creek

b.

(1) : being a higher part especially of a pair or a set

upper lip

the upper stories of the building

(2) : worn over a part of the body above the waist

his upper clothes were black and his lower clothes red — J.G.Frazer

c. : directed upward

d. : being above or on the earth's surface rather than below it or in nether regions

those appointed to sit there had … flown to the upper world — John Milton

e.

(1) : being or occurring on a higher level with respect to the earth's surface

the upper atmosphere

upper plankton — R.E.Coker

(2) : constituting a stratum relatively near the earth's surface

(3) usually capitalized : being a later epoch or series of the period or series named

Upper Carboniferous

Upper Cretaceous

Upper Permian

Upper Silurian

— contrasted with Lower

2.

a. : higher in rank or order : superior in position

senates were substituted for councils as the upper house — Harvey Walker

the … club was generally restricted to the upper social brackets — Current Biography

specifically : being on a more advanced level in an educational system

the upper school

upper freshmen

b. : being of superior quality

the upper grades of lumber

3. archaic : worn on top of another garment : outer

4. : situated farther from the door : innermost

the upper end of the hall

5. : of or relating to higher musical pitch

although entirely different in their upper parts, they share the same bass — P.H.Lang

the most securely brilliant upper registers heard in the vast house in many years — Newsweek

6. : earlier

determines the upper limit of date

7. : being the northern part of an area

cut across upper New York to the Vermont state line — Budd Schulberg

upper Manhattan

II. noun

( -s )

: one that is upper: as

a. : the parts of a shoe or boot that are above the sole

b. uppers plural but sometimes singular in construction : the best grade of lumber : finish

c.

(1) : an upper tooth

has two uppers missing

(2) : an upper denture

d. : an upper berth

e. : a drill hole driven upward in a mine

f. : a piece of clothing worn above the waist : top

were allowed to remove their pink pajama uppers — Earle Birney

- on one's uppers

III. noun

( -s )

Etymology: up (I) & up (III) + -er

: one that ups — sometimes used in combination

builder- upper

coffee, which he finds the best of all toner- uppers — H.W.Wind

IV. noun

1. : a stimulant drug ; especially : amphetamine — compare downer herein

2. : something that induces a state of good feeling or exhilaration

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.