Up crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Up” are HIGH, WELL or DOWN, with 4 letters. Below are 99 answers from 3 to 15 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

USE 3 letters · verb

use up (resources or materials)

HIGH 4 letters · adverb

far up toward the source “he lives high up the river”

AHEAD 5 letters · adverb

at or in the front “I see the lights of a town ahead”

RAISED 6 letters · adjective

located or moved above the surround or above the normal position “a raised design”

LEADING 7 letters · adjective

indicating the most important performer or role “the leading man”

FINISHED 8 letters · adjective

(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state “a finished product”

IMPROVING 9 letters · adjective

getting higher or more vigorous “an improving economy”

FUNCTIONING 11 letters · adjective

performing or able to perform its regular function “a functioning flashlight”

UNSATISFYING 12 letters · adjective

not up to expectations

DISAPPOINTING 13 letters · adjective

not up to expectations “a disappointing performance from one who had seemed so promising”

PERPENDICULARLY 15 letters · adverb

straight up or down without a break

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, HIGH, WELL, DOWN, FREE, LEFT and GONE all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: H → HIGH · W → WELL · D → DOWN · F → FREE · L → LEFT · G → GONE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, AHEAD, AWAKE, RISEN, ASTIR, DORMY and FOUND all fit. The third letter tells them all apart: E → AHEAD · A → AWAKE · S → RISEN · T → ASTIR · R → DORMY · U → FOUND. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 3 squares, USE, TOP, YET, EAT, ODD and DIG all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: U → USE · T → TOP · Y → YET · E → EAT · O → ODD · D → DIG. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “upped” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “up” means

• adjective: being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level (“the anchor is up”)
• adjective: out of bed (“up by seven each morning”)
• adjective: getting higher or more vigorous (“it's an up market”)
• adjective: extending or moving toward a higher place (“the up staircase”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as UP, and words whose definition is UP. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.