: the chiefly northerly sections of a state
also
: the chiefly rural part of a state when the major metropolitan area is in the south
Examples of upstate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The city constructed and then repeatedly expanded a reservoir and aqueduct system to store and transport fresh drinking water from upstate.
—
Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025
Some of the Bronx is rocky and wooded like upstate, and some is oceanfront marsh and beach.
—CBS News, 24 Jan. 2025
The geography of ‘upstate’ is fairly vast, spanning from the Hudson Valley and Catskills all the way to the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks.
—Samantha Rees, Vogue, 23 Dec. 2024
Riley, who calls himself a fifth-generation upstate New York native, is an attorney working in private legal practice.
—The Hill, 11 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for upstate 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025
Some of the Bronx is rocky and wooded like upstate, and some is oceanfront marsh and beach.
—CBS News, 24 Jan. 2025
The geography of ‘upstate’ is fairly vast, spanning from the Hudson Valley and Catskills all the way to the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks.
—Samantha Rees, Vogue, 23 Dec. 2024
Riley, who calls himself a fifth-generation upstate New York native, is an attorney working in private legal practice.
—The Hill, 11 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for upstate
Dictionary Entries Near upstate
Cite this Entry
“Upstate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upstate. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
upstate
adjective
up·state
ˈəp-ˌstāt 
: of, relating to, or typical of a part of a state away from a large city and especially to the north
upstate
noun or adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share