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PlainSpell

upright

/ˈʌpɹaɪt/adjective, adverb, noun, verb

upright is spelled U-P-R-I-G-H-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, upright means “Vertical; erect” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in upright?

Letters7: U-P-R-I-G-H-T
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing5.5 times per million words; the 10,519th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is upright?

Upright appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce upright?

  • /ˈʌpɹaɪt/

Upright has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-upright.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of upright

  • more upright comparative
  • most upright superlative
  • uprights plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • uprighting participle, present
  • uprighted participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does upright mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Vertical; erect.

    Supported by pillows, ſhe ſat almoſt upright.

  2. 2

    In its proper orientation; not overturned.

    My brother didn't get angry when his son knocked over the lamp; he simply called the boy over and helped him set it upright again.

  3. 3

    Greater in height than breadth.

  4. 4

    Of good morals; reliable and trustworthy; practicing ethical values.

  5. 5

    Having a head at approximately a right angle with the shaft.

  6. 6

    Characterized by a style of running with the head and shoulders held high.

    He's an upright runner.

adverb

  1. 1

    In or into an upright position.

    I was standing upright, waiting for my orders.

  2. 2

    On one's feet (as opposed to in a wheelchair).

    Amputee hockey is played upright.

noun

  1. 1

    Any vertical part of a structure, especially a part that provides support.

  2. 2

    A goal post.

  3. 3

    The poles of a field goal post.

  4. 4

    slangA leg.

  5. 5

    A tentpole that holds aloft the center or sides of a tent.

    Coordinate term: ridge

  6. 6

    The state of being vertical or perpendicular.

    Can you fix that? It's out of upright.

  7. 7

    informalCharacterized by being awake and out of bed.

  8. 8

    A word clued by the successive initial, middle, or final letters of the cross-lights in a double acrostic or triple acrostic.

verb

  1. 1

    To set upright or stand back up (something that has fallen).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Upright in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanaufrecht (vertical; erect), hochkant (greater in height than breadth)
Portugueseereto, aprumado (vertical; erect), íntegro (of good morals)
Spanishrecto, erguido (vertical; erect), poste, montante (any vertical part of a structure, especially…), piano vertical (an upright piano)
Frenchintègre (of good morals), montant (any vertical part of a structure, especially…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does upright come from?

From Middle English upright, uppryght, upriht, from Old English upriht (“upright; erect”), from Proto-Germanic *upprehtaz, equivalent to up- + right. Cognate with Saterland Frisian apgjucht (“upright”), West Frisian oprjocht (“upright”), Dutch oprecht (“upright”), German Low German uprecht (“upright”), German aufrecht (“upright”), Swedish upprätt (“upright”), Icelandic uppréttur (“upright”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after upright