up

Name: up, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ʌp/

//ʌp// adv

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“up” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #44 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#44
frequency rank, English: 2
letters: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Indicating movement towards or location at a higher place or position.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

up vs us

50% similar

up vs ur

50% similar

up vs UT

0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for up
Property	Value
Headword	up
Language	English
Part of speech	Adverb
IPA	/ʌp/
Letters	2
Frequency rank	#44
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “up” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). up lands here:

#44

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for up is 2 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʌp/. Corpus data places it at rank #44 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 19 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

up has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "us", "ur", "UT", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Germanic *ub Proto-Germanic *upp Proto-West Germanic *upp Old English upp Middle English up English up From Middle English up, op, oup, from Old English upp, up, ūp (“up”), from Proto-West Germanic *upp, *ūp, fr… The correct English form is up, spelled U-P.

Definition

1
Indicating movement towards or location at a higher place or position.
2
Indicating movement towards or location at a higher place or position.
3
Indicating movement towards or location at a higher place or position.
4
Indicating movement towards or location at a higher place or position.
5
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
6
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
7
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
8
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
9
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
10
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
11
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
12
Indicating movement in any other direction visualised as "up".
13
To or in a position of equal advance or equality; not short of, back of, less advanced than, away from, etc.; usually followed by to or with.
14
Used as an aspect marker to indicate a completed action or state; thoroughly, completely.
15
To one's possession or consideration.
16
From one's possession or consideration.
17
Aside or away, so as no longer to be present or in use.
18
Relatively close to the batsman.
19
Without additional ice.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Germanic *ub Proto-Germanic *upp Proto-West Germanic *upp Old English upp Middle English up English up From Middle English up, op, oup, from Old English upp, up, ūp (“up”), from Proto-West Germanic *upp, *ūp, from Proto-Germanic *upp, *eup (“up”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian ap (“up”), West Frisian op (“up”), Dutch op (“up”), German Low German up, op (“up”), German auf (“up”), Danish op (“up”), Swedish upp (“up”), Icelandic upp (“up”), Gothic 𐌹𐌿𐍀 (iup, “up”).

Synonyms

alley oop

Antonyms

down down down down

This word in other languages

arriba(Español)en haut(Français)oben(Deutsch)acima(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "up"?

"up" is spelled U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌp/.

What does "up" mean?

As an adverb, "up" means: Indicating movement towards or location at a higher place or position.

What words are commonly confused with "up"?

"up" is commonly confused with "us", "ur", "UT". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "up"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "up" is /ʌp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "up"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “up”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is U-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ʌp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “us” - see the side-by-side comparison. up vs us
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.