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
MacworldSynonyms
Examples 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
Jamie Gold, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Security upgrades had been installed at all the warhead storage sites and rail transfer points.
—William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
David Zipper, Vox, 13 Nov. 2024
The company completed its capital program to upgrade existing equipment at certain locations during the second quarter of 2024.
—Quartz Bot, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for upgrade 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The online home improvement platform Thumbtack, which refers consumers to pros for home maintenance, repairs and upgrades, compiled a list of top 10 indoor trending projects leading into winter.
—Jamie Gold, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Security upgrades had been installed at all the warhead storage sites and rail transfer points.
—William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
Recognizing the issue, over the summer, the Federal Highway Administration published guidance and held a webinar highlighting dozens of federal funding programs available to upgrade legacy highways.
—David Zipper, Vox, 13 Nov. 2024
The company completed its capital program to upgrade existing equipment at certain locations during the second quarter of 2024.
—Quartz Bot, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for upgrade
Dictionary Entries Near upgrade
Cite this Entry
“Upgrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upgrade. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share