upgrade

1 of 2

noun

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād 

1

: an upward grade or slope

2

: increase, rise

3

: improvement sense 2b

upgrade

2 of 2

verb

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād  ˌəp-ˈgrād 

upgraded; upgrading; upgrades

transitive verb

: to raise or improve the grade of: such 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 (something, such as a device)

f

: to assign a less serious status to

upgraded the patient's condition to good

intransitive verb

: to replace something (such as software or an electronic device) with a more useful version or alternative

Upgrading to a new operating system can make people anxious, even under the best of circumstances.

—Macworld

upgradability noun

or upgradeability

ˌəp-ˌgrā-də-ˈbi-lə-tē 

upgradable adjective

or upgradeable

ˌəp-ˈgrā-də-bəl 

Synonyms

Noun

• acclivity
• ascent
• hill
• rise
• uphill
• uprise

Verb

• advance
• elevate
• promote
• raise

Examples of upgrade in a Sentence

Noun

a slight upgrade in the roadway

The hotel offered us a room upgrade.

Verb

This course will help you to upgrade your computer skills.

They've upgraded the quality of their service.

The city is upgrading the sewage treatment plant.

The office is upgrading the telephone system.

They upgraded the hotel to attract more business patrons.

We were able to upgrade to first class.

We had reserved a double room, but the hotel upgraded us to a suite.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The online home improvement platform Thumbtack, which refers consumers to pros for home maintenance, repairs and upgrades, compiled a list of top 10 indoor trending projects leading into winter. —Jamie Gold, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Security upgrades had been installed at all the warhead storage sites and rail transfer points. —William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024

Verb

Recognizing the issue, over the summer, the Federal Highway Administration published guidance and held a webinar highlighting dozens of federal funding programs available to upgrade legacy highways. —David Zipper, Vox, 13 Nov. 2024

The company completed its capital program to upgrade existing equipment at certain locations during the second quarter of 2024. —Quartz Bot, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1901, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

upgrade

1 of 2 noun

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād 

1

: an upward grade or slope

2

: rise entry 2 sense 4

crime has been on the upgrade

upgrade

2 of 2 verb

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād  ˌəp-ˈgrād 

1

: to raise to a higher grade or position

2

: to improve or replace especially software or a device for increased usefulness

upgradability noun

or upgradeability

ˌəp-ˌgrād-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

upgradable adjective

or upgradeable

ˌəp-ˈgrād-ə-bəl 

Medical Definition

upgrade

transitive verb

up·​grade ˈəp-ˌgrād, ˌəp-ˈ 

upgraded; upgrading

1

: to assign a less serious status to

upgraded the patient's condition from fair to good

2

: to reclassify (as a cancer, concussion, or bone fracture) to a more serious grade when the grades are numbered from least to most serious