up to

preposition

1

—used as a function word to indicate extension as far as a specified place

sank up to his knees in the mud

2

—used as a function word to indicate a limit or boundary

up to 50,000 copies a month

worked up to the last minute

Examples of up to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Local amounts up to 12 inches across southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, far southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle are possible through Thursday night, the hurricane center said. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024

Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024

Last year, city hall announced that anyone seen in the street or public spaces without clothes, or wearing only underwear, would face fines of up to €750 ($825). —Jack Guy, CNN, 11 Sep. 2024

In a bonus from the work, the team found that Native American DNA comprised up to 12% of the ancient people’s genomes. —Byrodrigo Pérez Ortega, science.org, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

up to

preposition

1

: as far as a named part or place

sank up to my hips

2

: in accordance with

the game was not up to our standards

3

a

: to the limit of

come in sizes up to 10

b

: as many or as much as

carry up to 10 tons

4

: until entry 1, till

from dawn up to dusk