upward mobility

noun

: the capacity or facility for rising to a higher social or economic position
upwardly mobile adjective

Examples of upward mobility in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
There doesn’t even seem to be the possibility for upward mobility. Scott Tobias, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024 McKinsey & Company invoked the phrase to describe women leaders facing barriers to upward mobility. Phil Kirschner, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 Students who went to trade school had little chance for upward mobility, says Jeff Strohl, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, citing past research. Ira Porter, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Oct. 2024 Many Indians also see English, the international language of science, as a path to upward mobility. Byvaishnavi Chandrashekhar, science.org, 5 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for upward mobility 

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of upward mobility was in 1949

Dictionary Entries Near upward mobility

Cite this Entry

“Upward mobility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upward%20mobility. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on upward mobility

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