uphold
/ˌʌpˈhəʊld/ verb C1- To hold up; to lift on high; to elevate.
- To keep erect; to support; to sustain; to keep from falling.
- To support by approval or encouragement; to vindicate; to confirm (something which has been questioned).
He/she/it upholds · Past upheld · Past participle upheld · -ing form upholding
Verb forms
- Base form
- uphold
- He/she/it
- upholds
- Past
- upheld
- Past participle
- upheld
- -ing form
- upholding
An irregular verb: learn its past and past participle by heart.
From the library
“Marilla Cuthbert, you don’t mean to say that you are upholding her in such a terrible display of temper as we’ve just seen?” demanded Mrs.
Now, should any letters or other documents of a compromising character be found upon him, will it not be taken for granted that all who uphold him are his accomplices?”
The king is either a king or no king; if he be acknowledged as sovereign of France, he should be upheld in peace and tranquillity; and this can best be effected by employing the most inflexible agents to put down every attempt at conspiracy—’tis the best and surest means of preventing mischief.”
Learn uphold in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.