upload

upload — verb

IPA/ˌʌpˈləʊd/
KK[ˈʌplˌod]IPA/ˌʌpˈləʊd/
  • uploadpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • uploadshe / she / it
  • uploadedpast simple
  • uploading-ing form

1. To send a digital file or set of data from your personal device — for example, a

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

To send a digital file or set of data from your personal device — for example, a phone, camera, or computer — to the internet or a central system so that it can be stored or shared.

Example

Mizuki uploaded her holiday photos to a shared online album.

upload + object + to + location

Before the meeting, Quan uploaded the report to the team's shared folder.

time clause opens the sentence

Common collocations
  • upload photos / videos / documents / files
  • upload to YouTube / the server / the cloud / a website
  • upload directly / automatically / manually
Synonyms
  • transfer

    Broader; can refer to moving any data or objects between locations, not necessarily digital or to an online system.

  • send

    More general; applies to physical and digital delivery and does not specifically imply a local-to-remote direction.

  • post

    Restricted to putting content on a website, social platform, or forum; often implies making it publicly visible.

  • submit

    Often used for forms, applications, or assignments sent to a system for review rather than simply stored.

Antonyms
  • download

    The opposite direction — transferring data from a remote system to your local device.

  • delete

    Removing data rather than moving it to another location.

Grammar Patterns

upload + object + to + location

Usage Note

Computing context only. Transitive use (upload + file) and intransitive use (the file is uploading) are both common. The preposition to introduces the destination: upload a video to YouTube.

Common Mistakes

I uploaded the file in the company server.
I uploaded the file to the company server.
upload takes the preposition to, not in or on, to indicate the destination.
I uploaded down the video from Google Drive.
I uploaded the video to Google Drive.
upload means sending data away from your device to a remote system; it is the opposite of download.

upload — noun

IPA/ˈʌp.ləʊd/
KK[ˈʌplˌod]IPA/ˈʌp.loʊd/

Word family

  • uploader
    nounB1
  • uploaded
    adjectiveB1
  • reupload
    verbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Upload is the most precise term for moving digital files from a personal device to a remote system or the internet — it always implies direction away from you. Transfer is broader and applies to any movement of data or objects between locations, whether digital or physical, and does not specify direction. Send is the most general, covering physical mail, email attachments, or digital notifications. Post is restricted to publishing content on a website or social platform, often with an element of public visibility — you upload a video file, but you post it to your followers' feeds. Submit is used in structured contexts such as online forms, applications, or assignments, where the data goes to a reviewer rather than just being stored. For everyday digital tasks: 'I uploaded the photos to Google Drive' (storage), 'I posted the photos on Instagram' (visibility).

upload ↗transfer ↗send ↗post ↗submit ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • upload speed
  • upload limit
  • upload progress
  • upload button
  • upload failed

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishModern English

Upload is a modern compound formed from up (Old English ūp, meaning to a higher position) and load (from Old English lād, meaning a way or carrying). The computing sense emerged in the 1970s alongside the growth of computer networks, where data could be sent 'up' from a smaller local machine to a larger central server. The term was modelled on the existing word download and became common with the rise of the internet in the 1990s.