ad. In, to, or toward a higher place, level, or position: flying upward. ad. Toward a higher position in a hierarchy or on a socioeconomic scale: a young executive moving upward fast. ad. To or toward the source, origin, or interior.ad. Toward the head or upper parts: bare from the waist upward. ad. Toward a higher amount, degree, or rank: Prices soared upward. ad. Toward a later time or age: from adolescence upward. adj. Directed toward a higher place or position: upward movement. idiom. upward More than; in excess of: "the onslaught of upwards of seventy divisionsā ( Winston S. Churchill).