upgrade

English

Etymology

From up- +‎ grade.

Pronunciation

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈʌp.ɡɹeɪd/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (verb) IPA^(key): /əpˈɡɹeɪd/, /ˈʌp.ɡɹeɪd/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪd

Noun

upgrade (plural upgrades)

1. An upward grade or slope.

   Antonym: downgrade

   Hypernyms: grade, gradient, slope

   • 1931, Journal of the Outdoor Life‎^[1], volume 28, page 303:

     The Worthens sighed with relief as the engine began its night of upgrade chugging.

2. An improved component or replacement item, usually applied to technology.

   Antonym: downgrade

   Near-synonym: option

   With my phone company, I get a free upgrade every twelve months if I keep topping up 10 pounds a month.

3. An improvement.

   Antonyms: downgrade, step back

   The remarried couples among my friends often joke that their divorce and remarriage amounted to an upgrade.

   • 2022 January 12, “Network News: Portsmouth line upgrade set to begin”, in RAIL, number 948, page 12:

     "When we're finished in 2024, this upgrade programme will provide a much-improved railway between London Waterloo and Portsmouth," said NR's Wessex Route Director Mark Killick.

Translations

an improved component or replacement item

• Arabic: تَرْقِيَة f (tarqiya)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 升級 (zh) (shēngjí)

• Finnish: parannus (fi)
• French: mise à niveau (fr) f, upgrade (fr) m
• Georgian: განახლება (ganaxleba), ვერსიის განახლება (versiis ganaxleba), ახალ ვერსიაზე გადასვლა (axal versiaze gadasvla)
• German: Upgrade (de) n
• Greek: αναβάθμιση (el) f (anaváthmisi)
• Hindi: नवीनीकरण m (navīnīkraṇ), अपग्रेड m (apagreḍ)
• Japanese: 改良 (ja) (かいりょう, kairyou), 改善 (ja) (かいぜん, kaizen), アップグレード (ja) (appugurēdo)
• Korean: 업그레이드 (ko) (eopgeureideu)
• Macedonian: надградба (nadgradba)
• Maori: whakamohoatanga, whakakoungatanga
• Polish: rozbudowa (pl) f, modernizacja (pl) f, ulepszenie (pl) n
• Russian: модерниза́ция (ru) f (modɛrnizácija), апгре́йд (ru) m (apgrɛ́jd), обновле́ние (ru) n (obnovlénije)
• Spanish: mejora (es) f, mejoría (es) f, mejoramiento m
• Swedish: uppgradering (sv) c
• Turkish: yükseltme (tr)
• Urdu: اپگریڈ m (apagreḍ)

See also

• upcharge
• upmarket
• upscale

 

References

• upgrade on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

upgrade (third-person singular simple present upgrades, present participle upgrading, simple past and past participle upgraded)

1. (transitive) To improve, usually applied to technology, generally by complete replacement of one or more components.

   Antonym: downgrade

   When you upgrade your standard of living, you become addicted to that standard of living.

2. (transitive) To replace with something better.

   Antonym: downgrade

   I had to upgrade my anti-virus software to protect my computer from the newer threats.

3. (transitive) To improve the equipment or furnishings of or services rendered to.

   Antonym: downgrade

   They upgraded him to the latest model.

   They were upgraded to first class.

   • 2014, Sid Davis, A Survival Guide for Buying a Home - Page 80‎^[2]:

     From the builder's standpoint, the name of the game is to upgrade you to the maximum you can qualify for.

   • 2019 October, “South Wales open access bid”, in Modern Railways, page 15:

     Calls at Cardiff Parkway are proposed once this station opens, with investment promised to upgrade station facilities at Severn Tunnel Junction.

   • 2022 December 14, “Network News: Fawley branch line reopening supported by 80% of locals”, in RAIL, number 972, page 20:

     Several level crossings would have to be upgraded, with the existing track re-laid to allow a line speed of 60mph.

4. (intransitive) To improve in condition or status.

   Antonym: downgrade

   She upgraded to a more successful husband.

5. (intransitive, transitive, computing) To replace a program with a later version of itself, a version having a higher version number or marketed under a more recent product name.

   She waited a long time to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11, hoping the worst bugs would be worked out before she took the plunge.

   She waited a long time to upgrade Windows, hoping the worst bugs would be worked out before she took the plunge.

Translations

to improve

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Cornish: ughradha
• Finnish: parantaa (fi)
• Georgian: აუმჯობესებს (aumǯobesebs), აახლებს (aaxlebs)
• German: verbessern (de)
• Greek: αναβαθμίζω (el) (anavathmízo)
• Hebrew: שדרג (shidrég)
• Maori: whakamohoa
• Polish: rozbudować (pl) pf
• Portuguese: melhorar (pt)
• Russian: модернизи́ровать (ru) impf or pf (modɛrnizírovatʹ), улучша́ть (ru) impf (ulučšátʹ), улу́чшить (ru) pf (ulúčšitʹ), усоверше́нствовать (ru) impf or pf (usoveršénstvovatʹ), обновля́ть (ru) impf (obnovljátʹ), обнови́ть (ru) pf (obnovítʹ)
• Spanish: mejorar (es), embonar (es)
• Swedish: befordra (sv), uppvärdera (sv), uppdatera (sv)
• Turkish: iyileştirmek (tr), düzeltmek (tr)

to replace an existing object with something better

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Cornish: ughradha
• Finnish: päivittää parempaan, hankkia parempi
• French: monter en gamme
• German: hochrüsten (de), nachrüsten (de)
• Maori: whakakounga
• Norwegian: oppgrade
• Spanish: modernizar (es), renovar (es)
• Swedish: uppgradera (sv)
• Turkish: kaliteyi geliştirmek (tr)

to replace a program with a later version of itself

• Catalan: actualitzar (ca)
• Cornish: ughradha
• Dutch: upgraden (nl)
• Finnish: päivittää (fi)
• Georgian: აახლებს (aaxlebs), განაახლებს (ganaaxlebs)
• German: aufrüsten (de), upgraden (de)
• Greek: αναβαθμίζω (el) (anavathmízo)
• Hebrew: שדרג (shidrég)
• Indonesian: memutakhirkan (id)
• Irish: uasghrádaigh
• Malay: naik taraf, menaik taraf
• Polish: aktualizować (pl) impf
• Russian: обновить (ru) (obnovitʹ)
• Spanish: actualizar (es)
• Swedish: uppgradera (sv)
• Turkish: yükseltmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: оновити (onovyty)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: upgraden (nl)

See also

• step up
• upcharge
• update

 

Adverb

upgrade (not comparable)

1. Up a slope or grade.
   • 1955, Carl Sandburg, Prairie-town boy‎^[3], page 173:

     Men fell out, worn-out, and there were sunstroke cases. It was an eight-mile march upgrade.

   • 2009, Craig Sanders, Canton Area Railroads‎^[4], page 66:

     Northbound trains originating near the Ohio River faced a 26-mile climb upgrade to Flushing.

   • 2010, Elliott Merrick, True North: A Journey Into Unexplored Wilderness‎^[5], page 167:

     From there it was an eight-mile pull upgrade to the mountain top.

   • 2013, Marty Metras, Walking the Walk, Camino de Santiago 2012‎^[6], page 16:

     I did that and saw we had to go upgrade a long ways.

   • 2020 December 16, David Clough, “Class 37s at 60: the great survivors”, in Rail, page 55, photo caption:

     [...] 37905 hauls the 1,400-tonne 0730 Mossend-Margam upgrade from Shrewsbury, mainly at 1-in-100, through Church Stretton at around 25mph on May 13 1989.

Further reading

• “upgrade”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “upgrade”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• guepard

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʏp.ɡrɛi̯t/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

upgrade

1. inflection of upgraden:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative
   4. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive

Polish

Alternative forms

• apgrejd

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English upgrade.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈab.ɡrɛjt/
• Rhymes: -abɡrɛjt
• Syllabification: up‧grade

Noun

upgrade m inan

1. (colloquial, computer science) upgrade (modernisation of technology)

   Synonym: aktualizacja

Declension

Declension of upgrade

	singular	plural
nominative	upgrade	upgrade'y
genitive	upgrade'u	upgrade'ów
dative	upgrade'owi	upgrade'om
accusative	upgrade	upgrade'y
instrumental	upgrade'em	upgrade'ami
locative	upgradzie	upgrade'ach
vocative	upgrade	upgrade'y

Related terms

adjective

• upgradowany

 

verb

• upgradować impf

 

Further reading

• upgrade in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English upgrade.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.piˈɡɾej.d͡ʒi/ [a.piˈɡɾeɪ̯.d͡ʒi], /apˈɡɾejd͡ʒ/ [apˈɡɾeɪ̯d͡ʒ], /u.piˈɡɾej.d͡ʒi/ [u.piˈɡɾeɪ̯.d͡ʒi], /upˈɡɾejd͡ʒ/ [upˈɡɾeɪ̯d͡ʒ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.piˈɡɾej.d͡ʒi/ [a.piˈɡɾeɪ̯.d͡ʒi], /apˈɡɾejd͡ʒ/ [apˈɡɾeɪ̯d͡ʒ], /u.piˈɡɾej.d͡ʒi/ [u.piˈɡɾeɪ̯.d͡ʒi], /upˈɡɾejd͡ʒ/ [upˈɡɾeɪ̯d͡ʒ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /apˈɡɾejd͡ʒ/ [apˈɡɾeɪ̯d͡ʒ], /a.piˈɡɾej.d͡ʒi/ [a.piˈɡɾeɪ̯.d͡ʒi], /upˈɡɾejd͡ʒ/ [upˈɡɾeɪ̯d͡ʒ], /u.piˈɡɾej.d͡ʒi/ [u.piˈɡɾeɪ̯.d͡ʒi]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /aˈpɡɾɐjd/ [aˈpɣɾɐjð], /uˈpɡɾɐjd/ [uˈpɣɾɐjð]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /aˈpɡɾɐjd/ [aˈpɣɾɐjð], /uˈpɡɾɐjd/ [uˈpɣɾɐjð]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /aˈpɡɾejd/ [aˈpɣɾejð], /uˈpɡɾejd/ [uˈpɣɾejð]
  • (Central Portugal) IPA^(key): /aˈpɡɾejd/ [aˈpɣɾejð], /uˈpɡɾejd/ [uˈpɣɾejð]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /aˈpɡɾed/ [aˈpɣɾeð], /uˈpɡɾed/ [uˈpɣɾeð]

Noun

upgrade m (plural upgrades)

1. (colloquial) an upgrade

References

• "Upgrade" in Dicionário Informal