Synonyms: Up

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's your vocabulary! Whatever's going up, up, up, this list has the words to describe it. For more synonym lists, explore our "Say What You Mean" resources.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aerial
    existing, living, growing, or operating in the air
    Giant eagles circled the battlefield, doing aerial combat with two snake-haired ladies in green Bargain Mart vests—Stheno and Euryale. The Son of Neptune
    Aer- means "air" in Greek, which is why you see the prefix in words like aerial, aerosol, and aerodynamic.
  2. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    When the plane was safely aloft, the machine that was Billy’s father-in-law asked the quartet to sing his favorite song. Slaughterhouse-Five
  3. altitude
    elevation above sea level or above the earth's surface
    “Next time we fly will be with a new propellant: zinc dust and sulfur. We’re going for maximum altitude.” October Sky
    On commercial flights, pilots will often announce when the plane has reached its cruising altitude, which is often around 37,000 feet. Altitudo means "height" in Latin.
  4. arise
    move upward
    The late moon arose before the first rooster crowed. The Pearl
  5. ascend
    travel up
    We ascend the red-carpeted stairs, passing silver sailing trophies and the oil portrait of the hydroplane racer Gar Wood. Middlesex: A Novel
    The opposite of ascend is descend.
  6. boost
    push or shove upward, as if from below or behind
    He and Mr. Arable and Lurvy and Avery grabbed the crate and boosted it over the side of the pen and up into the truck. Charlotte's Web
  7. elevate
    raise from a lower to a higher position
    An elevated subway train thundered overhead, making the afternoon light along Roosevelt Avenue blink like a failing fluorescent bulb. Class Matters
    An elevator saves you having to climb many flights of stairs.
  8. escalate
    increase in extent or intensity
    With each dead end, I felt an escalating fear. The Boy on the Wooden Box
    Escalate means "to increase," and an escalator is a moving staircase that you'll often see in shopping malls and other large public structures.
  9. float
    be on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom
    In a happy daze I float upstairs and lie on the red sofa feeling soft as gelatina, playing the scene over and over and over again in the darkness. The Queen of Water
  10. hover
    hang in the air; fly or be suspended above
    The elevator was now hovering over the roof of the Bucket’s little house. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
    If you've ever seen a drone hanging in one spot over the ground, that's hovering.
  11. lofty
    of imposing height; especially standing out above others
    The high red sandstone walls were far too lofty to be scaled by any normal creature. Redwall
  12. mount
    go up, advance, or increase
    She began to mount the stairs, toiling heavily. The Sound and the Fury
  13. promote
    assign to a higher position
    I was promoted to bellboy, which meant a small increase in income. Black Boy
    Not all words for "up" refer to flying. For example, if you get a promotion at work, you're moving up the corporate ladder.
  14. sail
    move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions
    They sail over us, zipping and dipping and spinning, their little compasses guiding them to the throne platform. The Belles
  15. scale
    reach the highest point of
    The barrier fence that surrounds the grounds is made of wrought iron at least ten feet tall, and I wonder how Jackson was able to scale such a high fence. Dread Nation
    Scale has many meanings, one of which is "to climb."
  16. soar
    rise rapidly
    I heard a raging screech as the bird soared up again. The Cay
  17. summit
    reach the peak (of a mountain)
    In 1990, the year Hall first summitted Everest, the clinic was run by an accomplished, self-confident physician from New Zealand named Jan Arnold. Into Thin Air
    The summit is the top of a mountain.
Created on Mon Mar 09 14:00:46 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Feb 25 12:30:39 EST 2021)

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