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Definition of "upstream" []

  • In, at, or toward the source of a stream: paddling upstream. (adverb)
  • In a direction opposite to that of a stream's current: upstream traffic. (adjective)
  • Business Closer to the point of production or manufacture than to the point of sale. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "upstream" in a sentence
  • "Note: The term upstream refers to exploration, low-sulfur gasolines and strengthened development, production, gas and power mar - keting, and U.S. coal businesses or activities. our position as the world's foremost The corporation has paid a dividend Downstream refers to the refining and market - supplier and marketer of motor fuels every year for more than a century. ing of petroleum products such as motor fuels and lubricants. and lubricants."
  • "Most of our profitability comes from what we call the upstream business, so we're producing oil from old fields that have been produced for years and years."
  • "InDOT is now sending landowners letters offering to buy flood easements for 92 parcels upstream from the bridge."