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uppercase

uppercase

4 2.2
A large letter used at the start of names or sentences
  • noun
  • /ˈʌpərˌkeɪs/
translation icon : letra mayúscula
  • During the test, students were instructed to write their names in uppercase on the answer sheet.
  • uppercase letters
  • uppercase and lowercase

Examples

  • On small paper plates, I drew a treble clef and uppercase letters of the musical alphabet.

    Academic text (2006)
  • However, the name of the journal itself is italicized as well as done in uppercase and lowercase.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I wrote the note names in bold uppercase letters.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Use lower- and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

    Academic text (2006)
  • There are dozens, probably hundreds, of instances of uppercase letters on the site.

    Blog text (13)
  • First letter of the quote should be uppercase and the rest should be lowercase.

    Blog text (27)
  • For each, the child is shown a sheet with either all of the uppercase letters or all of the lowercase letters presented in random order.

    Academic text (2015)
  • To reinforce the use of uppercase letters, the teacher uses items listed in class spelling bees.

    Academic text (1990)
  • In her report, she used uppercase letters to highlight important names.

  • The sign clearly stated that you must use uppercase letters at the beginning of each word.

Synonyms

capital
vsuppercase
64 1.2

A large letter used at the start of names or sentences

is the same meaning but presented as the main entry
capital letter
vsuppercase
4 1.0

A large letter that you use at the start of a sentence or name

focuses on use at names rather than sentence-initial use
upper-case letter
vsuppercase
1 1.5

A large letter that begins names and sentences

is the same concept but given in the chosen dictionary form
capital letters
vsuppercase
1.0

Large letters that start sentences and names

refers to a single large character used at a proper-name start
majuscule
vsuppercase
  • Specialized
8.4

A large capital letter used at the start of names or sentences

is the common, everyday term rather than the technical label
block capital
vsuppercase
3.4

An uppercase letter written clearly and not joined to other letters often used on forms

is the general large letter without specifying handwriting style

Antonyms

9 1.9

The small letters of the alphabet, not capital letters

Surface Forms

uppercase singular
uppercases plural
upper-cases plural
upper-case singular

Morphology

uppercase = upper + case (transparent) = upper + case

As a noun meaning 'a capital letter', the compound 'upper' + 'case' straightforwardly names the higher form of a letter.

Etymology

Uppercase originally named the 'upper case' or top box where printers stored capital letters, with upper meaning top and case meaning box. So an uppercase letter is a big, 'capital' letter.