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up to
preposition
1
—used as a function word to indicate extension as far as a specified place
sank up to his knees in the mud
2
—used as a function word to indicate a limit or boundary
up to 50,000 copies a month
worked up to the last minute
Examples of up to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Local amounts up to 12 inches across southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, far southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle are possible through Thursday night, the hurricane center said.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 12 Sep. 2024
Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024
Last year, city hall announced that anyone seen in the street or public spaces without clothes, or wearing only underwear, would face fines of up to €750 ($825).
—Jack Guy, CNN, 11 Sep. 2024
In a bonus from the work, the team found that Native American DNA comprised up to 12% of the ancient people’s genomes.
—Byrodrigo Pérez Ortega, science.org, 11 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for up to
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'up to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of up to was
in the 13th century
Dictionary Entries Near up to
Cite this Entry
“Up to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/up%20to. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
up to
preposition1
: as far as a named part or place
sank up to my hips
2
: in accordance with
the game was not up to our standards
3
a
: to the limit of
come in sizes up to 10
b
: as many or as much as
carry up to 10 tons
4
: until entry 1, till
from dawn up to dusk
More from Merriam-Webster on up to
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for up to
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