uptick

noun

up·​tick ˈəp-ˌtik 

plural upticks

1

: an increase, rise, or upward trend

For the professional middle class in particular, an uptick in innovation and a return to faster economic growth would solve many problems, and likely reignite income growth.

—Don Peck

Any near-term uptick in jobs will probably be small, because there's still plenty to be milked from existing workers.

—Rana Foroohar

2

finance : a stock market transaction at a price above the last previous transaction in the same security

Hong Kong has long required that stocks can only be sold short on upticks, meaning when the last trade of a specific stock in the market was higher than the preceding trade of that stock.

—Martin Fackler and Keith Bradsher

compare downtick sense 2

Synonyms

• accretion
• accrual
• addendum
• addition
• augmentation
• boost
• expansion
• gain
• increase
• increment
• more
• plus
• proliferation
• raise
• rise
• step-up
• supplement

Examples of uptick in a Sentence

an uptick in sales over the last fiscal year

Recent Examples on the Web

An uptick in reverse discrimination claims is also predicted by Alyesha Asghar, shareholder and co-chair of Littler’s EEO & Diversity Practice Group, and Julian Wolfson, associate at Littler, in a 2024 bulletin on the Ames case. —Michelle Travis, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024

In particular, there was an uptick in cell phone use among teenagers at that time and as a result, social media blossomed. —Mia Taylor, Parents, 21 Dec. 2024

Both the show's highest total and demo viewership saw a 5% uptick when compared to last season. —Dave Quinn, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024

And since then, there’s been a minuscule uptick of African stories in Western entertainment. —Kui Mwai, Essence, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

up entry 2 + tick entry 1

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

uptick

noun

up·​tick

ˈəp-ˌtik

: an increase, rise, or upward trend

an uptick in cost