upstate
noun · adjective · adverb
Simple meaning
The northern section of a state.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhpstaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʌpsˈteɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
us
The northern section of a state.
us
The inland section of a state, particularly South Carolina.
A period during sleep when somebody is primed and ready to learn.
adjective
us
Of the northern section of a state.
adverb
US
In or toward the northern parts of a state
us
To the northern section of a state.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The northern section of a state.
Used this way, upstate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.