Upper UP'PER, a. [comp. from up.] 1. Higher in place; as the upper
lip; the upper side of a thing. An upper story is a higher one; the upper
story is the highest. So the upper deck of a ship. 2. Superior in
rank or dignity; as the upper house of a legislature. Upper hand,
advantage; superiority. Upper-works, in a ship, the parts above water
when the ship is properly balanced for a voyage; or that part which is
above the main wale.
upper
adj 1: the topmost one of two
2: higher in place or position; "the upper bunk"; "in the upper
center of the picture"; "the upper stories"
3: superior in rank or accomplishment; "the upper half of the
class"
n 1: the higher of two berths [syn: upper berth, upper]
2: piece of leather or synthetic material that forms the part of
a shoe or boot above the sole that encases the foot; "Uppers
come in many styles"
3: a central nervous system stimulant that increases energy and
decreases appetite; used to treat narcolepsy and some forms
of depression [syn: amphetamine, pep pill, upper,
speed]
upper I. adjectiveEtymology: Middle English, comparative of 2upDate: 14th century 1.a. higher in physical position, rank, or order <the upper
lip> <upper management> b. farther inland <the
upper Mississippi>
2. constituting the branch of a bicameral legislature that is
usually smaller and more restricted in membership and possesses greater
traditional prestige than the lower house 3.a. constituting a stratum relatively near the earth's surface
b.capitalized being a later epoch or series of the
period or system named <Upper Cretaceous> <Upper
Paleolithic>
4.northern <upper Manhattan> II. nounDate: 1789 one that is upper: as a. the parts of a shoe or boot
above the sole b. an upper tooth or denture c. an upper berth
III. nounEtymology:up + 2-erDate: circa 1968 1. a stimulant drug; especiallyamphetamine2. something that induces a state of good feeling
or exhilaration
upper 1. adj. & n. --adj. 1 higher in place; situated above another part (the upper atmosphere; the upper lip). 2 higher in rank or dignity etc. (the upper class). 3 situated
on higher ground (Upper Egypt). --n. the part of a boot or shoe above the sole. Phrases and idioms: on one's uppers colloq. extremely short of money. upper case see CASE(2). upper
class the highest class of society, esp. the aristocracy. upper-class adj. of the upper class. the upper crust colloq. the aristocracy. upper-cut n. an upwards blow delivered with the arm
bent. --v.tr. hit with an upper-cut. the upper hand dominance or control. Upper House the higher house in a legislature, esp. the House of Lords. the upper regions 1 the sky. 2 heaven.
upper works the part of a ship that is above the water when fully laden. Etymology: ME f. UP + -ER(2) 2. n. sl. a stimulant drug, esp. an amphetamine. Etymology: UP
v. + -ER(1)
Upper \Up"per\, a.; comp. of Up.
Being further up, literally or figuratively; higher in place,
position, rank, dignity, or the like; superior; as, the upper
lip; the upper side of a thing; the upper house of a
legislature.
The upper hand, the superiority; the advantage. See To
have the upper hand}, under Hand. --Jowett (Thucyd.).
Upper Bench (Eng. Hist.), the name of the highest court of
common law (formerly King's Bench) during the
Commonwealth.
Upper case, the top one of a pair of compositor's cases.
See the Note under 1st Case, n., 3.
Upper covert (Zo["o]l.), one of the coverts situated above
the bases of the tail quills.
Upper deck (Naut.), the topmost deck of any vessel; the
spar deck.
Upper leather, the leather for the vamps and quarters of
shoes.
Upper strake (Naut.), the strake next to the deck, usually
of hard wood, and heavier than the other strakes.
Upper ten thousand, or (abbreviated) Upper ten, the ten
thousand, more or less, who are highest in position or
wealth; the upper class; the aristocracy. [Colloq.]
Upper topsail (Naut.), the upper half of a double topsail.
Upper works (Naut.), all those parts of the hull of a
vessel that are properly above water.
Upper world.
(a) The atmosphere.
(b) Heaven.
(c) This world; the earth; -- in distinction from the
underworld.
upper
ˈʌpə adj.
1 higher (up), loftier, topmost, more elevated, uppermost: Air is less dense in the
upper parts of the atmosphere. Our flat is on an upper floor. Her best notes are sung in the
upper register.
2 higher, upland, more elevated; (more) northerly, northern: We visited the cataracts
on the upper reaches of the Nile. We spent the holiday in upper Canada.
3 later, more recent: These strata were laid down in the Upper Cretaceous period.
4 upper case. capital letter(s), capital(s), majuscule (letters or characters): The
heading ought to be in upper case.
5 upper crust. upper class, ÷lite, aristocrats, nobles, blue bloods, wealthy, US Four
Hundred: Gregory thinks of himself as a member of the upper crust and won't associate with us.
6 upper hand. advantage, control, authority, power, sway, superiority, supremacy, command,
dominance, ascendancy, Colloq edge: Purvis kowtows to whoever has the upper hand. --n.
7 on (one's) uppers. poor, indigent, destitute, poverty-stricken, Colloq broke: Stanley
has been on his uppers since losing his job.
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