How to Use upward in a Sentence

upward

1 of 2 adverb
  • The road gradually rose upward.
  • She directed my gaze upward.
  • They are moving upward socially and economically.
  • But the curve needs to trend upward.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 3 May 2026
  • The curve shoots upward like a fever.
    — Big Think, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Things rolled upward from there.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Start to twist your hair upward against against your head.
    — Glamour, 25 Feb. 2026
  • But gold's swing upward may come with some bumps along the way.
    — Aly J Yale, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
  • This will help reflect light and draw the eye upward.
    — Angelika Pokovba, Martha Stewart, 23 Apr. 2026
  • All were placed with the sharp ends facing upward.
    — CBS News, 22 Feb. 2026
  • Smoke curls upward into the night sky.
    — Monti Carlo, AJC.com, 8 Mar. 2026
  • Overnight, the smoke coiled upward and gave way to acid rain that stained the city black.
    — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Smoke spiralled upward through the floors above.
    — Lizzie Johnson, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
  • The flaps should be pointing upward.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Don’t give up; this is just the start of a bull run—forward and upward!
    — Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Heads tilted upward, phones came out.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 28 May 2026
  • Pull straight upward with steady pressure.
    — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026
  • Pull upward with steady, even pressure.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Worse, though things are trending upward.
    — Jesse Newell, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • What counts as a standard tip has also crept upward.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Lovers of the night sky and northern lights will want to look upward over the next few evenings.
    — Greta Cross, USA Today, 4 June 2026
  • But this can stretch your smile outward instead of upward.
    — Christine Buzan, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025
  • This means that two guys who surged upward this year are primed for induction.
    — Tony Blengino, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Gently bend your wrist back so your fingers point upward.
    — Kristen Fischer, Health, 17 Apr. 2026
  • This tchotchke adds some flair and also works as a stand that angles the lens upward.
    — Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 17 Mar. 2026
  • The towers would be held up by columns that soared upward through the church’s nave.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Removing the weight can cause the planes to tip upward, and point their noses to the sky.
    — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
  • Once through these gaps, the land might trend upward, but there were no harsh mountain passes.
    — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
  • The torque starts low in the rev range and pours on smoothly and sweetly as the tach swings upward.
    — Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 19 Aug. 2023
  • Game prices are also moving upward, too.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 8 May 2026

upward

2 of 2 adjective
  • What emerged was not a steady, upward march of brightness.
    — Bree Shirvell, Hartford Courant, 12 May 2026
  • All of that leads to upward rent pressure, which shows no signs of slowing.
    — John Walkup, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
  • With mixed reviews, the film could not see an upward trend over the weekend.
    — Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • If the upward trend continues, maybe round three will have eight?
    — Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 12 Dec. 2022
  • Indeed, real rays swim with a slight upward tilt.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Jan. 2026
  • This upward trend tends to indicate that a player will take the field.
    — James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Åberg has been on a direct upward trend for several weeks.
    — Justin Ray, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Their upward wing posture is a key way to identify them.
    — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 28 May 2026
  • That means that fewer jobs are available, and there is less upward pressure on wages.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Oct. 2025
  • During the test, the plane nosed up at the end of the runway thanks to upward shockwaves.
    — Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 18 Jan. 2023
  • Note the recent upward spikes shown in the chart above for the 10-Yr.
    — Robert Barone, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2023
  • These changes put upward pressure on diesel prices in several ways.
    — Robert Rapier, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
  • First, if the boat is floating, then the upward buoyancy must be equal to the weight of the boat.
    — WIRED, 28 July 2023
  • Kelly raised his rifle high and fired at an upward angle until the group left.
    — Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 2024
  • Use it in an upward motion with light taps underneath to loosen and release the weight.
    — Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 31 Jan. 2026
  • But other extreme weather events are not causing the same upward curve in deaths.
    — Jake Frederico, The Arizona Republic, 31 Aug. 2023
  • But there is a clear upward trajectory in striving to get there.
    — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 31 May 2026
  • That would be more than enough to bring down the road and railway above, which were not built to withstand upward pressure.
    — David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The quiet upward propulsion of Apple is a great joy.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 May 2026
  • The oil shortage also drove up diesel prices, putting upward pressure on grocery prices.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 10 June 2026
  • That continued a general upward trend from the last five years.
    — Natassia Paloma, USA Today, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Making matters worse, homes for sale were in short supply, putting more upward pressure on prices.
    — Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 1 Dec. 2023
  • This trade-off means refined product prices can face stronger upward pressure than crude oil itself.
    — CNBC, 12 May 2026
  • Still, as noted, the price trajectory here is an upward one.
    — Matt Richardson, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Trump brought charts with him to make the case that the economy is on an upward trajectory.
    — Josh Boak, Fortune, 18 Dec. 2025
  • Silver followed gold's upward swing and looks comfortable at such prices.
    — Tasmin Lockwood, CNBC, 19 Jan. 2026
  • A little more than a week ago, his campaign was on an upward trajectory.
    — Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
  • The consumption rate is an upward sliding scale that’s based on how much a customer uses per month.
    — Paul Gattis | [email protected], al, 19 Sep. 2023
  • Everyone knows most years have an upward bias in the final two months of the year, even more so when the first ten months have been strong.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2025
  • And, gold began its current upward climb in late 2023.
    — Aly J Yale, CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'upward.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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