upgraded; upgrading; upgrades
: 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
: 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
MacworldExamples 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
Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
While this is a big upgrade behind the scenes, Anderson said the way the NRCS shares and explains forecasts to the public won't really change.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
David Hambling, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Don’t miss the opportunity to upgrade your security at an incredible price.
—Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upgrade
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Noun
Meanwhile, Samsung has hit another major issue with its surprising pause in the One UI 7 upgrade.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
While this is a big upgrade behind the scenes, Anderson said the way the NRCS shares and explains forecasts to the public won't really change.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
Verb
The process resembles a video game where scoring points allows a player to upgrade their warrior, mecha or spacecraft to take on successively bigger opponents.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Don’t miss the opportunity to upgrade your security at an incredible price.
—Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upgrade
Cite this Entry
“Upgrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upgrade. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
1
: to raise to a higher grade or position
2
: to improve or replace especially software or a device for increased usefulness
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
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