Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

upscale

/ˈʌpskeɪl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.29 in modern English

Syllables: up-scale
IPA: /ˈʌpskeɪl/

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Expensive and designed to appeal to affluent consumers.

American usage

verb

To increase in size, to scale up.

Example Sentences

"For example, a good location for resale, such as an upscale suburb of new homes, will cost more money than a piece of land in an established neighborhood of small, postwar houses."
"In Rio de Janeiro, thousands protested in a gritty area far from the city’s upscale seaside districts. In other cities, demonstrators blocked roads, barged into City Council meetings or interrupted sessions of local lawmakers, clapping loudly and sometimes taking over the microphone."

Etymology

From up + scale, 1966 (adjective), 1963 (verb).

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

more upscale (comparative) most upscale (superlative) upscales (present, singular) upscaling (participle, present) upscaled (participle, past) upscaled (past)

Derived Forms

upscaleness upscalability upscalable upscaler

Synonyms

upmarket high-class

Antonyms

downscale

Questions

How do you pronounce upscale?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʌpskeɪl/.
What does upscale mean?: Expensive and designed to appeal to affluent consumers.
Where does upscale come from?: From up + scale, 1966 (adjective), 1963 (verb).

How to pronounce upscale

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “upscale”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʌpskeɪl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “upscale”.
Repeat and practice — Say “upscale” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.