- vertical or erect
- honest, honourable, or just
- a vertical support, such as a stake or post
- short for upright piano
- the state of being vertical
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
up•right /ˈʌpˌraɪt, ʌpˈraɪt/USA pronunciation
adj.
n. [countable]
adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- straight, erect, or vertical, as in position or posture:upright posture.
- raised or made vertically:[before a noun]an upright vacuum cleaner.
- being fair, right, honest, or just:an upright citizen.
n. [countable]
- something standing straight up, as a piece of timber.
- SportUsually, uprights. [plural] goalposts, as on a football field.
- Music and Dancean object designed to stand upright:The piano is an upright.
adv.
- in an upright position or direction.
up•right
(up′rīt′, up rīt′),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
adv.
v.t.
up′right′ly, adv.
up′right′ness, n.
- erect or vertical, as in position or posture.
- raised or directed vertically or upward.
- adhering to rectitude;
righteous, honest, or just:an upright person. - being in accord with what is right:upright dealings.
n.
- the state of being upright or vertical.
- something standing erect or vertical, as a piece of timber.
- Music and Dancean upright piano.
- SportUsually, uprights. [Chiefly Football.]the goalposts.
adv.
- in an upright position or direction;
vertically.
v.t.
- to make upright.
- Middle English, Old English upriht (cognate with German aufrecht). See up, right bef. 900
up′right′ness, n.
- 1. plumb. Upright, erect, vertical, perpendicular imply that something is in the posture of being straight upward, not leaning. That which is upright is in a position corresponding to that of a person standing up:a decaying tree no longer standing upright; an upright piano.Erect emphasizes the straightness of position or posture:proud and erect; A flagpole stands erect.Vertical suggests upward direction, esp. along the shortest line from the earth to a level above it:the vertical edge of a door; ornamented by vertical lines.Perpendicular, a term frequently interchangeable with vertical, is used esp. in mathematics:the perpendicular side of a right triangle; to erect a perpendicular line from the base of a figure. 3. honorable. 6. pole, prop, pier, pile, column.
- 1. leaning, horizontal.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
upright /ˈʌpˌraɪt/ adj
'upright' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
attention
- backboard
- biretta
- bolt
- bookend
- bulkhead
- column
- cross
- cushion plant
- Daniel
- easel
- end
- endways
- erect
- fall
- fine
- gallows
- goalpost
- grand piano
- guillotine
- harp
- hydrant
- Jackie
- kickstand
- loggerhead
- mast
- maypole
- ortho-
- oryx
- overturn
- pale
- perpendicular
- piano
- pillar
- pinnacle
- post
- raise
- rank
- rear
- right
- seahorse
- shower
- sit
- sit up
- sound
- spindle
- splat
- stair
- stalk
- stamen