From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishupstreamup‧stream /ˌʌpˈstriːm◂/ adverb TTWSGalong a river, in the opposite direction from the way the water is flowing OPP downstream Fish instinctively fight their way upstream against the current. —upstream adjective
Examples from the Corpus
upstream• The cataract, moving at a rate that may have reached six feet a year, continued to work its way upstream.• He painted it from above and below from upstream and down, from near and faras Frankenstein had.• Meanwhile upstream at Bankside an estimated 75,000 visited Tate Modern last weekend.• Across the railway, Force Gill comes into view and is followed upstream, departing from the track.• And here the cataract, fighting its way slowly upstream, encountered the subterranean remains of a much older watercourse.• Then they paved the parking lot and built a pedestrian bridge over the river upstream from the falls.• Only fifty yards further upstream I find a smooth glide along my own bank that looks as though it should hold a few chub.• Travis gave her appearance one long look before disappearing upstream the way she had come.From Longman Business Dictionaryupstreamup‧stream /ˌʌpˈstriːm◂/ adjectiveECONOMICSMANUFACTURING relating to an activity, product etc on which other activities etc depend or that happen before other activitiesUpstream technologies such as electronics and optics improve the performance of manufacturing machinery → compare downstream —upstream adverb 