Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - upright

(uprights) 1. If you are sitting or standing upright, you are sitting or standing with your back straight, rather than bending or lying down. Helen sat upright in her chair... Jerrold pulled himself upright on the bed... He moved into an upright position. ADJ: usu ADJ after v, v-link ADJ, also ADJ n 2. An upright vacuum cleaner or freezer is tall rather than wide. ...the latest state-of-the-art upright vacuum cleaners. ADJ: ADJ n 3. An upright chair has a straight back and no arms. He was sitting on an upright chair beside his bed, reading. ADJ 4. You can refer to vertical posts or the vertical parts of an object as uprights. ...the uprights of a four-poster bed. N-COUNT 5. You can describe people as upright when they are careful to follow acceptable rules of behaviour and behave in a moral way. ...a very upright, trustworthy man. ADJ: usu ADJ n