: relating to, being, or appealing to affluent consumers
also
: of a superior quality
upscaled; upscaling; upscales
1
: to make (something) more appealing to affluent consumers : to make (something) more upscale
The council is renaming them the Fashion Awards, globalizing them, moving the hoopla around them to the Royal Albert Hall and otherwise upscaling them.—
Vanessa Friedman
Vanessa Friedman"Everybody's trying to upscale men's colognes because the prestige brands have taken share from the mass brands," says cosmetics industry consultant Allan Mottus.—Ronald Alsop
Ronald Alsop
also
: to improve the quality of (something)
… even retained a handwriting teacher to upscale her penmanship—no more tiny circles over her i's. —Brad Darrach
Brad Darrach 2
: to increase the size; scope, or scale of (something)
A star is an upscaled nuclear reactor, not a bonfire.—Laurence A. Marschall
Laurence A. MarschallAs a result, an upscaling of the problem of underrepresentation to the national scale mobilizes scalar politics …—Emily Skop
Emily Skop
: to or toward the upper, more expensive end of a range of products or services
He tried to move upscale—toward higher-cost, higher-profit garments, which, in theory, would be less susceptible to price competition.—James Lardner
James Lardner… chef Celestino Drago has taken Sicilian cuisine upscale in his chic Santa Monica restaurant.—Thomas Matthews
Thomas MatthewsExamples of upscale in a Sentence
Adjective
a new upscale shopping center is under construction on the west end of town
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
This upscale ship also features 41 staterooms, available in four categories, as well as a restaurant, lounge and bar, and sundeck with a swimming pool.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 28 Feb. 2025
Martino Carrera, WWD, 18 Sep. 2024
The company has been in the imaging software business for over two decades now, with beloved apps for editing and upscaling photos and videos.
—New Atlas, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upscale
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Adjective
The hotel also had an upscale choice of restaurants, like Umo, specializing in foods of the Yucatan, Zen, the sushi spot, and Wai, the Thai place.
—Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
This upscale ship also features 41 staterooms, available in four categories, as well as a restaurant, lounge and bar, and sundeck with a swimming pool.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
Now, to better cater to that demographic, Akoni Eyewear is undergoing a rebranding aimed at further upscaling its positioning, following the brand’s mantra of shokunin, the Japanese philosophy of perfecting one’s craft, and in sync with the overall upscaling of the eyewear sector.
—Martino Carrera, WWD, 18 Sep. 2024
The company has been in the imaging software business for over two decades now, with beloved apps for editing and upscaling photos and videos.
—New Atlas, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for upscale
Cite this Entry
“Upscale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upscale. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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