upstream

/ˌʌpˈstriːm/ (bre, ipa) · [ˈʌpstrˈim] /ˌʌpˈstriːm/ (ame, ipa) · [ˈʌpstrˈim] /ˈəp-ˈstrēm How to pronounce upstream (audio)/ (ame, mw)

upstream — adverb

1. following the waterway toward its starting point instead of going with the flow.

1.副詞B2
釋義

following the waterway toward its starting point instead of going with the flow.

例句

Every spring, salmon swim upstream to the shallow water where they lay eggs.

pattern: swim upstream to [place]

Reuben rowed upstream for twenty minutes before the village bridge came into view.

collocation: row upstream

同義詞
  • upriver

    very close in meaning, especially when the river itself is the main point of reference

  • against the current

    explains the same direction more directly, but as a phrase rather than a single adverb

反義詞

文法句型

swim upstream

row upstream

head upstream

用法筆記

Most often follows verbs of movement on rivers or streams, such as swim, row, paddle, and head. It can also be used more generally for movement against a current, but water scenes are the clearest and most typical use.

常見錯誤

❌We drove upstream to the museum.
✅We walked upstream along the river to the old mill.
💡'upstream' normally describes movement against flowing water, not ordinary road travel.

2. at an earlier point in a chain of events, a production process, or another syste

2.副詞C1
釋義

at an earlier point in a chain of events, a production process, or another system, before later results appear.

例句

The engineers looked upstream and found the leak in the first design stage.

look upstream = check an earlier stage

When prices jumped, the team traced the problem upstream to a packaging supplier.

pattern: trace upstream to [cause]

同義詞
  • earlier

    gives the time order, but lacks the process-chain image that 'upstream' adds

  • at the source

    focuses on the original cause rather than the whole earlier section of a process

反義詞
  • downstream

    at a later point in the same process or chain of events

文法句型

look upstream

trace upstream to [cause]

work upstream

用法筆記

Common in business, science, and public-policy contexts when people trace causes, suppliers, or decisions to an earlier step. Verbs such as look, trace, check, search, and work often appear with this figurative sense.

常見錯誤

❌The service became upstream after the update.
✅The team looked upstream to find the first cause of the delay.
💡figurative 'upstream' points to an earlier part of a process, not to general improvement.