I. ˈəp-ˌgrād noun
Date: 1873
1. : an upward grade or slope
2. : increase , rise
3. : improvement 2b
II. ˈəp-ˌgrād, ˌəp-ˈ verb
Date: 1901
transitive verb
: to raise or improve the grade of: as
a. : to improve (livestock) by use of purebred sires
b. : to advance to a job requiring a higher level of skill especially as part of a training program
c. : to raise the quality of
d. : to raise the classification and usually the price of without improving the quality
e. : to extend the usefulness of (as a device)
f. : to assign a less serious status to
upgraded the patient's condition to good
intransitive verb
: to improve or replace especially software or a device for increased usefulness
• up·grad·abil·i·ty or up·grade·abil·i·ty ˌəp-ˌgrā-də-ˈbi-lə-tē noun
• up·grad·able or up·grade·able ˌəp-ˈgrā-də-bəl adjective