upright Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a vertical structural member as a post or stake
    vertical.
    • the ball sailed between the uprights
  2. noun a piano with a vertical sounding board
    upright piano.
  3. adjective satellite in a vertical position; not sloping
    unsloped.
    • an upright post
  4. adjective satellite of moral excellence
    good; just.
    • a genuinely good person
    • a just cause
    • an upright and respectable man
  5. adjective upright in position or posture
    vertical; erect.
    • an erect stature
    • erect flower stalks
    • for a dog, an erect tail indicates aggression
    • a column still vertical amid the ruins
    • he sat bolt upright

WordNet


Up"right` adjective
Etymology
AS. upright, uppriht. See Up, and Right, a.
Definitions
  1. In an erect position or posture; perpendicular; vertical, or nearly vertical; pointing upward; as, an upright tree.
    With chattering teeth, and bristling hair upright. Dryden.
    All have their ears upright. Spenser.
  2. Morally erect; having rectitude; honest; just; as, a man upright in all his ways.
    And that man [Job] was perfect and upright. Job i. 1.
  3. Conformable to moral rectitude.
    Conscience rewards upright conduct with pleasure. J. M. Mason.
  4. Stretched out face upward; flat on the back. Obs. " He lay upright." Chaucer. ✍ This word and its derivatives are usually pronounced in prose with the accent on the first syllable. But they are frequently pronounced with the accent on the second in poetry, and the accent on either syllable is admissible.
Up"right` noun
Definitions
  1. Something standing upright, as a piece of timber in a building. See Illust. of Frame.

Webster 1913