upscale

1 of 3

adjective

up·​scale ˈəp-ˈskāl 

: relating to, being, or appealing to affluent consumers

also : of a superior quality

upscale

2 of 3

verb

upscaled; upscaling; upscales

transitive verb

1

: to make (something) more appealing to affluent consumers : to make (something) more upscale

The council is renaming them the Fashion Awards, globalizing them, moving the hoopla around them to the Royal Albert Hall and otherwise upscaling them.

—Vanessa Friedman

"Everybody's trying to upscale men's colognes because the prestige brands have taken share from the mass brands," says cosmetics industry consultant Allan Mottus.

—Ronald Alsop

also : to improve the quality of (something)

… even retained a handwriting teacher to upscale her penmanship—no more tiny circles over her i's.

—Brad Darrach

2

: to increase the size; scope, or scale of (something)

A star is an upscaled nuclear reactor, not a bonfire.

—Laurence A. Marschall

As a result, an upscaling of the problem of underrepresentation to the national scale mobilizes scalar politics …

—Emily Skop

upscale

3 of 3

adverb

: to or toward the upper, more expensive end of a range of products or services

He tried to move upscale—toward higher-cost, higher-profit garments, which, in theory, would be less susceptible to price competition.

—James Lardner

… chef Celestino Drago has taken Sicilian cuisine upscale in his chic Santa Monica restaurant.

—Thomas Matthews

Synonyms

Adjective

• exclusive
• high-end
• upmarket

Examples of upscale in a Sentence

Adjective

a new upscale shopping center is under construction on the west end of town

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Jim Victor's and Marie Pelton's old farmhouse is nestled at the bottom of a hill about 15 minutes outside Philadelphia, surrounded by new, upscale townhomes and a park across the winding street. —Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2025

With just 56 guest rooms, including 8 sumptuous suites, the hotel manages to feel intimate yet upscale, offering goose down duvets, 600-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets, and soaking tubs for ultimate comfort. —Noel Burgess, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025

Verb

Unrivaled Sports sees the addition of the ranch, its largest property by area, as key to riding the wave of upscaling the experience of youth sports travel. —Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 2 Jan. 2025

And trying to upscale an already blurry, noisy photo is just going to result in sadness. —Allison Johnson, The Verge, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1966, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1963, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1977, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing upscale

• go/move upscale

Kids Definition

upscale

adjective

up·​scale

ˈəp-ˈskāl

: relating to, being, or appealing to wealthy consumers

upscale shops

: of a superior quality

upscale products