Definition of "upper"

upper

/ˈʌpə(ɹ)/

adjective
comparative uppermore, superlative uppermost
1. At a higher level, rank or position.
2. Situated on higher ground, further inland, or more northerly.
3. (geology, of strata or geological time periods) younger, more recent
4. (education) Of or pertaining to a secondary school.
noun
plural uppers
1. A stimulant, such as amphetamine, that increases energy and decreases appetite.
  1. Anything that cheers one up.
    Quotations
    Patrick was a cabbie & a dispatcher at Yellow Cab & when we got to the church where the [funeral] services were being held, the cabbies came out in force for Pat & there were at least 30 cabs pulling into the church parking lot. It was a real upper for a lot of us.
    1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
2. The upper portion of something
  Quotations
  The slewing ring is basically a large bearing upon which the upper is mounted. The outer race of the slewing ring is bolted to the upper, and the inner race is bolted to the car-body.
  1992, Organizational, Direct Support, and General Support, page 5
  These lines, GH and PC, are cut when the outline of the upper is cut out.
  2012, Reginald Laubin, Gladys Laubin, The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use
  1. (shoemaking) The piece of leather, etc., that forms the top part of a shoe above the sole.
    Quotations
    The uppers of his patent-leather shoes were hidden by fawn spats.
    1930, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 4, in The Maltese Falcon‎, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, page 52
  2. (footwear) The Y-shaped strap on flip-flops.
3. Someone with higher social standing
  Quotations
  Thus a vicious circle is established: the uppers offer participation, and the lowers, feeling persecuted, withdraw.
  1993, Larry Hirschhorn, Carole K. Barnett, The Psychodynamics of Organizations
  1. A senior student.
    Quotations
    Each Upper had his private Fag; but general fagdom consisted of obedience to the demand of every Upper, no matter in whose House he happened to be.
    1895, Edward Parry Eardley-Wilmot, E. C. Streatfield, Charterhouse, page 64
    It is advisable, for example, to learn the words to the school loyalty and to “Fair Harvard” in the event that you are “asked” to give an impromptu “concert” in the Yard for the benefit of the Uppers.
    2016, The Best of the Harvard Lampoon: 140 Years of American Humor
4. That which is higher, contrasted with the lower.
  Quotations
  Next, take up slack equally on the two uppers until they are snug.
  1984, Robert Forrest Burgess, Handbook of trailer sailing, page 90
  During the seventh week, the limbs also rotate laterally in the uppers and medially in the lowers.
  2009, Michael A. Alexander, Dennis J. Matthews, Pediatric Rehabilitation: Principles & Practice, page 361
  In this compact middle level between the uppers and the lowers, I actually had a counter in front of me, where food or drink could be safely planted, without fear of knocking over onto any patrons sitting in the seats below me.
  2010, Thomas Porky McDonald, Poet in the Grandstand
  1. A tooth in the upper jaw.
    Quotations
    In the lingualized type of occlusion, contact of the lingual cusps of the uppers against the semianatomic teeth on the lowers will be seen in lateral, protrusive, and eccentric movements.
    2009, Arun K. Garg, Implant Dentistry, page 165
    These reentrant folds, especially those on the buccal side of the uppers and the lingual side of the lowers, are quickly isolated by wear into infundibula within lakes of dentin.
    2010, Peter S. Ungar, Mammal Teeth: Origin, Evolution, and Diversity, page 212
    Periodically check the bite with the uppers and lowers to ensure that your actor's mouth will close correctly.
    2012, Todd Debreceni, Special Make-up Effects for Stage & Screen
    Considering the badly decayed condition of the Chief's other teeth, I recommended removal of what remained of the uppers, followed by a “full plate” after healing.
    2014, Jake Jacobson, Alaska Tales: Laughs and Surprises
  2. A denture or retainer for the teeth in the upper jaw.
    Quotations
    Treatment was continued until November, 1909, when a retainer was placed in position in the lower, consisting of bands round the lower first molars and a wire passing lingually round all the teeth. The upper was retained by means of a plate with wires wires passing behind the upper first molars and round in front of all the teeth.
    1912, Dental Record
    The lower (according to the patient) was perfect, but the upper was bad, and the dentist was going to make the upper again.
    1941, Cal - Volumes 4-6, page 6
    The upper was retained with a Hawley bite plane; the lip bumper was continued for an additional 18 months.
    2010, David R. Avery, Ralph E. McDonald, Jeffrey A. Dean, McDonald and Avery Dentistry for the Child and Adolescent
  3. An upper berth or bunk.
    Quotations
    The Railroad Company further averred that it operated sleeping cars over its system of more than 7,000 miles of interstate roads, and that the Interstate Commerce Commission had prescribed rates for each of said sleeping car units on trains running to and from the state of Wisconsin. The rate fixed for the upper was 80 per cent. of the charge for the use of the lower; the price for the whole section beting the sum of the two rates.
    1926, United States. Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court Reports - Volume 59, page 1423
    But trains have changed. Gone are the uppers and lowers, partitions and cranks, and the green velour; only the porter remains, the same man, I think, a black man with palms the color of shrimp and a neck swollen with dislike.
    2011, Walker Percy, The Moviegoer
    Twelve lowers and twelve uppers and three beds in the drawing rooms.
    2011, Studs Terkel, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression
    Of course I naturally I asked why, but all the satisfaction I got for the time being was that the upper was good enough for me, and that it was a pretty good place in which to sleep, anyway.
    1914, Illinois Central Magazine - Volume 3, Issues 1-11, page 91
    The uppers were reached by comfortably safe steps with handrails and slip proof coatings.
    2016, Constance R. Pottenger, Drop Dead Casino - Ginger The First, page 31
5. (Taoism) A spiritual passageway through which consciousness can reach a higher dimension.
  Quotations
  The 'upper' is one of nine apertures through which consciousness can leave the body at death (utkrantih).
  2005, Shingo Einoo, Genesis and Development of Tantra, page 128
  When the Tao Te Ching says: “In thought, you can see the cavity,” it is referring to what the Triplex Unity describes as “When the upper is closed, we call it existence; when the lower is closed, we call it nothingness.”
  2005, Holding Yin, Embracing Yang
  It is said in Tibetan culture, in order to understand the upper, it is necessary to understand the lower first. Once, the lower is understood, the upper is just an introductory.
  2010, Tenzin Dhakpa Agongtsang, Realistic Principles, Pittsburgh, PA: RoseDog Books, page 10

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