/euh buv"/ , adv.
1. in, at, or to a higher place.
2. overhead, upstairs, or in the sky: My brother lives in the apartment above. A flock of birds circled above.
3. higher in rank, authority, or power: She was told to speak to the person above.
4. higher in quantity or number: books with 100 pages and above.
5. before or earlier, esp. in a book or other piece of writing; foregoing: the remark quoted above. Cf. below (def. 6).
6. in or to heaven: gone to her eternal rest above.
7. Zool. on the upper or dorsal side.
8. Theat. upstage. Cf. below (def. 9).
9. higher than zero on the temperature scale: The temperature dropped to ten above this morning.
prep.
10. in or to a higher place than; over: to fly above the clouds; the floor above ours.
11. more in quantity or number than; in excess of: all girls above 12 years of age; The weight is above a ton.
12. superior in rank, authority, or standing to: A captain is above a lieutenant.
13. not subject or liable to; not capable of (some undesirable action, thought, etc.): above suspicion; to be above bad behavior.
14. of too fine a character for: He is above such trickery.
15. rather than; in preference to: to favor one child above the other.
16. beyond, esp. north of: six miles above Baltimore.
17. Theat. upstage of.
18. above all , most important of all; principally: charity above all.
adj.
19. said, mentioned, or written above; foregoing: the above explanation.
n.
20. something that was said, mentioned, or written above: to refer to the above.
21. the person or persons previously indicated: The above will all stand trial.
22. heaven: truly a gift from above.
23. a higher authority: an order from above.
[ bef. 900; ME above ( n ) (Cf. aboon ), OE abufan, onbufan (A- 1 , on + bufan above (c. D boven ), equiv. to b ( e ) BY + ufan, c. OFris uva, OS oban ( a ), OHG obana, G oben, ON ofan above; akin to OVER); see UP; cf. ABOUT for formation ]
Usage . ABOVE as an adjective ( the above data ) or as a noun ( study the above ) referring to what has been mentioned earlier in a piece of writing has long been standard. A few critics object to these uses in general writing, believing that they are more appropriate in business or technical contexts; they occur, however, in all kinds of edited writing.