Meaning & use
up and onwards
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Continuing to move forward or make progress, especially after a difficult period.
Grammar: Used as an adverbial phrase, often after verbs of movement or progress: move up and onwards.
Patterns
- move up and onwards
- go up and onwards
- from something up and onwards
After the setback, the team decided to move up and onwards with the project.
The company's profits went up and onwards despite the economic downturn.
She encouraged her students to look up and onwards to their future careers.
phrasefixed phrase
From a particular point in time forward; onward from a specified time.
Grammar: Often used with 'from': from 2020 up and onwards.
Patterns
- from a time up and onwards
From the 1990s up and onwards, the internet changed how we communicate.
The policy will apply from next year up and onwards.
Common combinations
- move up and onwards
- Let's move up and onwards to the next item on the agenda.
- go up and onwards
- The path goes up and onwards through the forest.
- from ... up and onwards
- From that day up and onwards, he never looked back.
Synonyms and how they differ
- onward
- Onward is more common in American English and often used as an adjective or adverb without 'up and'.
- forward
- Forward focuses on direction, while up and onwards suggests progress over time.
Opposites
Commonly confused: up and onwards or upward?
up and onwards vs upward
Upward means moving to a higher place; up and onwards means continuing forward in time or progress.
Practice
After the merger, the company continued to grow ______.
Choose one answer.
Up and onwards fits because it means continuing forward or making progress. Up and down means alternating, up to date means current, and up and coming describes someone likely to succeed soon.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “up and onwards”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.