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Glite Dictionary
upbound

upbound

8.5
Moving toward inland areas, for example upriver
  • adjective
  • /ˈʌpˌbaʊnd/
translation icon : río arriba
  • Is that an upbound vessel we see in the distance?

Examples

  • The upbound freighter passed us just before dawn.

  • All upbound trains are delayed due to maintenance work.

  • Traffic in the upbound shipping lanes increased during the holiday period.

  • The upbound ship sailed smoothly along the river.

  • The cargo ship is upbound, carrying goods to the interior of the country.

  • As they paddled upriver, they encountered an upbound vessel full of tourists.

  • We watched the upbound barge slowly make its way against the current.

Synonyms

upriver
vsupbound
19 4.1

Toward the place where a river starts and against the water flow

describes vehicles heading toward the interior not only river movement
upcurrent
vsupbound
7.2

Being near the start of a river or stream

applies to vehicles heading inland rather than indicating simple relative position
upline
vsupbound
7.9

Toward the source of a river, pipe, or system

is about vehicles moving inland rather than abstract system direction

Antonyms

downbound
8.2

To move toward a lower place, like a boat going downstream or a train going south

Surface Forms

upbound positive

Morphology

upbound = bound (transparent) = up + bound

The meaning 'heading up/upriver' is the direct combination of 'up' + 'bound', following a productive English pattern (cf. 'northbound', 'westbound'). [Postprocessing: moved 'up' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

The word upbound is simply up + bound, like northbound or inbound, where bound means 'going toward'. So an upbound ship or train is one that is moving 'up' in the usual way, for example upriver or toward the country's interior.