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above

[uh-buhv]

Example Sentences Origin

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adverb

in, at, or to a higher place.

overhead, upstairs, or in the sky: My brother lives in the apartment above. A flock of birds circled above.

higher in rank, authority, or power: She was told to speak to the person above.

higher in quantity or number: books with 100 pages and above.

before or earlier, especially in a book or other piece of writing; foregoing: the remark quoted above. Compare below (def. 6).

EXPAND

in or to heaven: gone to her eternal rest above.

Zoology. on the upper or dorsal side.

Theater. upstage. Compare below (def. 9).

higher than zero on the temperature scale: The temperature dropped to ten above this morning.

COLLAPSE

preposition

10.

in or to a higher place than; over: to fly above the clouds; the floor above ours.

11.

more in quantity or number than; in excess of: all girls above 12 years of age; The weight is above a ton.

12.

superior in rank, authority, or standing to: A captain is above a lieutenant.

13.

not subject or liable to; not capable of (some undesirable action, thought, etc.): above suspicion; to be above bad behavior.

14.

of too fine a character for: He is above such trickery.

EXPAND

15.

rather than; in preference to: to favor one child above the other.

16.

beyond, especially north of: six miles above Baltimore.

17.

Theater. upstage of.

COLLAPSE

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Above is always a great word to know.

So is echinodermata. Does it mean:

pertaining to creatures without a backbone

phylum of radially symmetrical coelomate marine invertabrates

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

adjective

18.

said, mentioned, or written above; foregoing: the above explanation.

noun

19.

something that was said, mentioned, or written above: to refer to the above.

20.

the person or persons previously indicated: The above will all stand trial.

21.

heaven: truly a gift from above.

22.

a higher authority: an order from above.

Idiom

23.

above all, most important of all; principally: charity above all.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English above(n) (Cf. aboon), Old English abufan, onbufan (a-¹, on + bufan above (cognate with Dutch boven), equivalent to b(e) by + ufan, cognate with Old Frisian uva, Old Saxon oban(a), Old High German obana, German oben, Old Norse ofan above; akin to over); see up; compare about for formation

Usage note
Above as an adjective (the above data) or as a noun (study the above) referring to what has been mentioned earlier in a piece of writing has long been standard. A few critics object to these uses in general writing, believing that they are more appropriate in business or technical contexts; they occur, however, in all kinds of edited writing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To above

Example Sentences

The excess of helicopters jamming the skies above the city are subject to little regulation and much complaining.

We found it had significant benefits over and above a written research journal.

If the epicentre is on the seabed, that also lifts the water above the bed, creating a wave.

EXPAND

The excess of helicopters jamming the skies above the city are subject to little regulation and much complaining.

We found it had significant benefits over and above a written research journal.

If the epicentre is on the seabed, that also lifts the water above the bed, creating a wave.

Highlining is a balance sport that uses nylon webbing tensioned between two anchor points high above the ground.

Each of the three fast-moving storms shown above was photographed at two-minute intervals by the space probe.

New gullies appear, and you see them only in places where the temperature rose above the melting point of water.

For cuts that involve cutting above a growth bud, angle.

Indeed, looking at these monuments of sport from above makes you think differently when you're visiting down below.

Create your account and then follow the instructions above.

Signals from above the telescope can be identified and ignored.

Then it hit me-these were snow-covered peaks, jutting hundreds of feet above the highest clouds.

Paper airplane contest awards the flimsy fliers that are a cut above the rest.

They talked above the crack of distant rifle and machine-gun fire.

H eat loving shrubs have nectar-filled tubular flowers with two lobes above the mouth, three on the lower lip.

We've gathered here some of the best cloud formations to see from above.

In every state legislature, the rate of college completion is far above the average for both the state and the nation.

Given that it is growing above its sustainable rate, and badly out of balance, that may be no bad thing.

Above this depth, sufficient light exists to make it difficult for animals to conceal themselves.

More elusive forms, dubbed sprites and blue jets, flit above the clouds.

Mexico is, above all, a country of tremendous diversity.

Skylights help reduce overall lighting costs by bringing natural daylight from above into the home.

The replica above could be useful for heaving at linecutters on premiere night.

Sample has been called many things on this campus-darling of donors, beloved leader, brilliant scientist-but above all he.

America is the only rich country that, having fallen below the replacement rate, has risen back above it.

Explore patterns on our planetSelect a setting above the viewer and watch the world spring to life on a series of thematic maps.

The sign above has gotten extremely popular on the internet.

They don't even know there was a village up there above the springs.

To encourage a second crop, cut off main stalk an inch above ground after harvesting the last bud of the first.

The drone above our fictional warzone should be on its way to its new position imminently.

Four-color proofs must be sent to the mailing address above and must be representative of the digital file.

But above all the upsurge in inflation has proved far more extreme than was once projected.

Go back to try the other option or use the pull-down menu above to explore further.

The review above does not show the complete numerical system.

But what can be seen above ground is the archaeological equivalent of shock and awe.

Above the natural bridge, the trail crosses the creek through.

GScreen has announced a ruggedized version of its dual screen notebook, seen above.

Not all sporting activities can rise above today's troubles.

Seeing the magazine damaged by torpedo fire, he went above decks to help the wounded to safety.

Monorails could enter and leave buildings well above street level and greatly improve access both for everyday use and emergency.

We watch the whales surface and spout, their black backs arching above the waves almost in unison as they breathe and dive.

Colorful blossoms of yellow or brilliant orange-red above ferny foliage in summer.

Take a good look at the four fashionable, geek-friendly items above.

Indeed it is stories, past and present, that bind together the thousands of objects displayed on the floors above.

Or use the pull-down menu above to explore other areas of this site.

The above plant is a sweet little creature, yet may not seem particularly noteworthy.

Three stories above ground, it has the city's largest concentration of native vegetation.

In some shrubby species, conelike male flower clusters sit above showy colored bracts and have the look of giant daisies.

Compounding the above problem is the fad of equipping bathrooms with only electric hand dryers.

Above all, however, an adequate biography of a thinker must address the nature of his intellectual achievement.

Above them is poised a serrated granite outcrop, solitary and still.

The relation holds true for rich countries and poor, as seen above in each rising line.

He was a racist, incapable of rising above the thought of his time and place, and willing to profit from slave labor.

Align and add outer foot using two screws as shown above.

Above that, curiouser still: a wide, gaping air vent of the sort that you might see at the top of a mine-shaft.

He sat on a platform two feet above the showroom floor.

The helicopter hovered above the surface for a moment, then crashed into the water and began to sink.

Because hillsides are never as cold in winter as the hilltops above them or the ground below them, they're called thermal belts.

One way of doing this is by precisely measuring the shape of the ground above a volcano.

In years in which this phenomenon is strong during the winter, more cold air is trapped above the pole.

Wings were a great survival tool that let them forage and rise above their enemies.

Individual concrete pads create the illusion that they're hovering lightly above the desert floor.

Several characteristics lift his novel above the average.

Geysers may occasionally erupt, shooting plumes of gas and ice many kilometers above the surface.

Bloodstains on the flies buzzing around the severed heads in the painting noted above are an example.

White cyclamen appear to flutter above silvery dusty-miller foliage and eucalyptus pods.

The directive as drafted would not in itself have prevented any of the egregious behaviour outlined above.

In the left image, the gray bars actually appear to be part of the black bars above and below.

The absurdity of dangling from a single rope far above the ferns below was put into perspective quickly.

Flat-topped clusters of inconsequential flowers rise above the leaves in summer.

P oppy relatives with upward-facing, four-petaled yellow or orange blooms above finely cut foliage.

Spruce and hemlock form a dense green canopy above us.

Among the biological pest controls sold by insectaries, these are my favorites, even above ladybugs.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

above (əˈbʌv)

—*prep*
1.	on top of or higher than; over: the sky above the earth
2.	greater than in quantity or degree: above average in weight
3.	superior to or prior to: to place honour above wealth
4.	too honourable or high-minded for: above petty gossiping
5.	too respected for; beyond: above suspicion; above reproach
6.	too difficult to be understood by: the talk was above me
7.	louder or higher than (other noise): I heard her call above the radio
8.	in preference to: I love you above all others
9.	north of: which town lies just above London?
10.	upstream from
11.	above all most of all; especially
12.	above and beyond in addition to
13.	above oneself presumptuous or conceited

—*adv*
14.	in or to a higher place: the sky above
15.	a. in a previous place (in something written)
	b. (in combination): the above-mentioned clause
16.	higher in rank or position
17.	in or concerned with heaven: seek the things that are above

—n
18.	the above something that is above or previously mentioned

—*adj*
19.	mentioned or appearing in a previous place (in something written)

[Old English abufan, from a- on + bufan above]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

above

O.E. abufan, from on "on" + bufan "over," compound of be "by" + ufan "over/high," from P.Gmc. *ufan-, *uban-. Meaning "in addition" first recorded 1590s.

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

above

In addition to the idioms beginning with above, also see all (none) of the above; cut above; head and shoulders above; over and above.