释义 |
upright /ˈʌprʌɪt /adjective1(Of a person) sitting or standing with the back straight: an upright posture...- He was upright immediately, staring at her in shock.
- Within a matter of seconds, he was snoring as if he were not upright in a car, but lying comfortably in his own bed.
- When we parted she was upright, energised, smiling and laughing.
1.1Placed in a vertical position: upright stone slabs...- It is a typical stone row, comprising a line of upright stone slabs, constructed about 2000 bc as a ceremonial site.
- Each gate will have the ability to revolve on a hinge, from a horizontal resting position on the bottom of the sea to an upright position rising above sea level.
- It clicks into place in an upright position when needed.
1.2Denoting a device designed to be used in a vertical position: an upright vacuum cleaner...- Mr. Starkley looked at the clock incorporated into his pen holder, a pair of upright pens with the clock between them mounted in the hub of a brass ship's wheel.
- Some light boxes look like upright lamps, while others are small and rectangular.
- Claim 4 relates to an upright appliance on wheels having a cleaning head with a rotatable brush at the dirty air inlet.
1.3(Of a piano) having vertical strings.About 40 Steinways, including upright and grand pianos, were on sale to amateur musicians and experts hunting bargains....- The piano was a shiny black upright model, clean and well-cared for.
- The piano itself sounds as though it's an old upright one that's seen better days, but it's still able to hold a tune, or at least the memory of one.
Synonyms vertical, perpendicular, plumb, straight (up), straight up and down, bolt upright, erect, on end, standing up, rearing, rampant; on one's feet 1.4Denoting a chair with a straight back and typically no arms.In the middle of the small and chaotic living room of Smith's south London high-rise council flat is a stylish but unremarkable upright chair....- They sat by the fire on upright chairs, wooden and unforgiving; they were old, I thought, but sadly had no armchair.
- We three girls sat on very uncomfortable upright chairs around the mock-Jacobean dining table.
2Greater in height than breadth: an upright freezer...- To reduce the height of a fast growing rambling rose on an upright trellis, try looping and tying the flowering canes as shown.
- They're usually upright, strong growers with green summer leaves and red, orange, and gold fall color.
- The third common feature of poorly designed logos is an upright shape.
3Strictly honourable or honest: an upright member of the community...- John was a much loved and respected member of the community, known for his upright and honest nature.
- A fine noble gentleman, honest and upright, he gained the respect of everybody.
- He seemed a decent fellow - honest, upright, considerate, and willing to put others before himself.
Synonyms honest, honourable, upstanding, respectable, reputable, high-minded, law-abiding, right-minded, worthy, moral, ethical, righteous, decent, good, virtuous, principled, high-principled, of principle, proper, correct, just, noble, incorruptible, anti-corruption, conscientious adverbIn or into an upright position: she was sitting upright in bed...- He looked steadily at Noel and Powell to show them he'd kept the trees upright.
- The wreck, called the Borghild, lies upright on the sea bed just offshore from a lighthouse and her decks are at 42m.
- After a few sessions with a ‘healing horse’ at the academy, he not only walks but sits upright on a horseback on his own.
noun1A post or rod fixed vertically, especially as a structural support: the stone uprights of the parapet...- The ‘smart’ fence uses breakable metal pins inserted between the top pole and the uprights supporting it.
- The winds, which had now swung south-east sent great waves over those who still clung to anything they could get a grip on, such as chains, steel uprights or iron support bars.
- The most common arch form is constructed of steel uprights supported in concrete-filled oil drums, with a trellised head spanning the road.
Synonyms column, standard, stanchion, post, pole 2An upright piano: a first-class upright that would satisfy an amateur pianist...- One option for families with children studying piano is to purchase uprights with the reduced keyboard and trade up later, as is done with different size violins.
- The ‘soft pedal’ on some uprights moves the whole set of hammers closer to the strings, so that they give a less powerful blow.
- Many manufacturers will offer both uprights and grands with smaller keyboards.
Derivativesuprightly /ˈʌprʌɪtli/ adverb ...- A free person lives uprightly, fulfilling his obligations to family, community, nation and God.
- They are tyrants and ideologues whose sole concern is imposing their Nietzschean will to power upon the weak, the uprightly bourgeois, the decently intentioned.
- Machiavelli begins by affirming that everybody realizes how praiseworthy it is when a ruler lives uprightly and not by trickery.
OriginOld English upriht, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch oprecht and German aufrecht (see up, right). |