Uphold

How to spell uphold

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce uphold

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does uphold mean?

1. verbTo support, maintain, or defend something such as a law, decision, standard, or principle.

Uphold in a sentence

• The appeal court chose to uphold the original verdict.

• Every employee is expected to uphold the company's ethical standards.

Where does uphold come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, descended from the Old English verb uphealdan, which simply joined up, meaning 'aloft' or 'upward', with healdan, 'to hold or keep'. The literal early sense was to hold something up physically, to keep it from falling, and from that concrete image grew the modern figurative meanings of maintaining, supporting, or defending something abstract such as a law, a tradition, or a decision. The Germanic root behind hold is shared with the modern German halten and the everyday English words 'hold' and 'beholden', so the family is easy to recognise. Because it is a transparent compound of two familiar words, the spelling has stayed remarkably stable since Middle English, when it appeared as upholden. The single trap, if any, is remembering that it is written solid as one word rather than as 'up hold' or hyphenated.

How the word is built

• up- (up, aloft)
• hold (to keep, support)