Ability vs Up - What's the difference?
ability | up |
(obsolete) Suitableness.
(uncountable) The quality or state of being able; capacity to do; capacity of doing something; having the necessary power.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)
, volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title=[http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jul/01/education-michael-gove-finland-gcse Finland spreads word on schools]
, passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}
The legal wherewithal to act.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=[http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21579860-g8-pledges-tackle-three-ts-t-time T time]
, passage=The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.}}
(archaic) Financial ability.
(uncountable) A unique power of the mind; a faculty.
* (rfdate) (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
(countable) A skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude.
* (rfdate) (King James Bible) , (w) 11:29
* (rfdate) (1800-1859)
* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph
, title=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/8882713/England-Under-21-5-Iceland-Under-21-0-match-report.html England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report]
, passage=The most persistent tormentor was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored a hat-trick in last month’s corresponding fixture in Iceland. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.}}
Away from the centre of the Earth or other planet; in opposite direction to the downward pull of gravity.
(intensifier) (Used as an aspect marker to indicate a completed action or state) Thoroughly, completely.
To or from one's possession or consideration.
North.
To a higher level of some quantity or notional quantity, such as price, volume, pitch, happiness, etc.
(rail transport) Traditional term for the direction leading to the principal terminus, towards milepost zero.
(sailing) Against the wind or current.
(Cartesian graph) In a positive vertical direction.
(cricket) Relatively close to the batsman.
(hospitality) Without additional ice.
(UK, academia) Towards Cambridge or Oxford.
* 1867 , John Timbs, Lives of wits and humourists , p. 125
* 1998 , Rita McWilliams Tullberg, Women at Cambridge , p. 112
* 2002 , Peter Harman, Cambridge Scientific Minds , p. 79
To or in a position of equal advance or equality; not short of, back of, less advanced than, away from, etc.; usually followed by to'' or ''with .
To or in a state of completion; completely; wholly; quite.
Aside, so as not to be in use.
Toward the top of.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.}}
Toward the center, source, or main point of reference; toward the end at which something is attached.
Further along (in any direction).
From south to north of
* 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
Awake.
Finished, to an end
In a good mood.
Willing; ready.
Next in a sequence.
Happening; new.
Facing upwards; facing toward the top.
Larger, greater in quantity.
Standing.
On a higher level.
* 1925 , Walter Anthony and Tom Reed (titles), , silent movie
Available; made public.
Well-informed; current.
(computing) Functional; working.
(of a railway line or train) Traveling towards a major terminus.
Headed, or designated to go, upward, as an escalator, stairway, elevator etc.
(bar tending) Chilled and strained into a stemmed glass.
(slang) Erect.
(of the Sun or Moon) Above the horizon, in the sky (i.e. during daytime or night-time)
* 1898 , , (Moonfleet) Chapter 4
(slang, graffiti) well-known; renowned
* 1996 , Matthew Busby Hunt, The Sociolinguistics of Tagging and Chicano Gang Graffiti (page 71)
* 2009 , Gregory J. Snyder, Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground (pages 16-40)
* 2011 , Adam Melnyk, Visual Orgasm: The Early Years of Canadian Graffiti
(uncountable) The direction opposed to the pull of gravity.
(countable) A positive thing.
An upstairs room of a two story house.
(colloquial) To increase or raise.
*
* {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=December 10
, author=Marc Higginson
, title=Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa
, work=BBC Sport
(colloquial) To promote.
*
*
*
To act suddenly, usually with another verb.
* 1991 , (Michael Jackson),
As a noun ability
is (obsolete) suitableness .As a verb up is
to upturn, to turn over.ability
English
Alternative forms
* (obsolete) habilityNoun
- Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study -
- Then the disciples, every man according to his ability , determined to send relief unto the brethren.
- The public men of England, with much of a peculiar kind of ability
Usage notes
* (skill or competence) Usually used in the plural. * Ability, capacity : these words come into comparison when applied to the higher intellectual powers. ** Ability has reference to the active'' exercise of our faculties. It implies not only native vigor of mind, but that ease and promptitude of execution which arise from mental training. Thus, we speak of the ''ability'' with which a book is written, an argument maintained, a negotiation carried on, etc. It always supposes something to be ''done'',George Crabb, 1826, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=YEgSAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13 English synonymes explained in alphabetical order]'', Collins & Hannay, page 13 and the power of ''doing it. ** Capacity has reference to the receptive'' powers. In its higher exercises it supposes great quickness of apprehension and breadth of intellect, with an uncommon aptitude for acquiring]] and retaining knowledge. Hence it carries with it the idea of ''resources'' and undeveloped power. Thus we speak of the extraordinary ''capacity'' of such men as , and [[w:Edmund Burke, Edmund Burke. "''Capacity''," says H. Taylor, "is requisite to devise, and ''ability to execute, a great enterprise." * The word abilities , in the plural, embraces both these qualities, and denotes high mental endowments.Synonyms
* (quality or state of being able) capacity, faculty, capability * (a skill or competence) See * (high level of skill or capability) talent, cleverness, dexterity, aptitude * (suitability or receptiveness to be acted upon) capability, faculty, capacity, aptness, aptitudeExternal links
* *References
up
English
(part of speech is dubious for many senses) (wikipedia up)Adverb
(-)- I looked up and saw the airplane overhead.
- I will mix up the puzzle pieces.
- Tear up the contract.
- He really messed up .
- Please type up our monthly report.
- I picked up some milk on the way home.
- The committee will take up your request.
- She had to give up her driver's license after the accident.
- I will go up to New York to visit my family this weekend.
- Gold has gone up with the uncertainty in the world markets.
- Turn it up , I can barely hear it.
- Listen to your voice go up at the end of a question.
- Cheer up , the weekend's almost here.
- The bowler pitched the ball up .
- Would you like that drink up or on ice?
- She's going up to read Classics this September.
- The son of the Dean of Lichfield was only three years older than Steele, who was a lad of only twelve, when at the age of fifteen, Addison went up to Oxford.
- Others insinuated that women 'crowded up to Cambridge', not for the benefits of a higher education, but because of the proximity of 2,000 young men.
- A precocious mathematician, Babbage was already well versed in the Continental mathematical notations when he went up to Cambridge.
- I was up to my chin in water.
- A stranger came up and asked me for directions.
- Drink up . The pub is closing.
- Can you sum up your research?
- The comet burned up in the atmosphere.
- I need to sew up the hole in this shirt.
- to lay up''' riches; put '''up your weapons
Antonyms
* (away from the centre of the Earth) down * (louder) down * (higher in pitch) down * (towards the principal terminus) downDerived terms
* all it's cracked up to be * back up * backup * bottoms up * bottom-up * blow up * break up * buck up * build up * burn up * clog up * cloud up * clean up * clear up * close up * crack up * cut up * double up * dress up * dry up * eat up * finish up * gang up * gang up on * go up * kick up * knock up * lash up * let up * look up * lookup * muck up * one-up * one-upmanship * open up * polish up * run up * runner up * runup * shake up * shoot up * show up * shut up * stir up * stop up * turn up * up a tree * up to * up to it * upon * upper * uppity * upto * upward * upwards * walkup * wet up * work up * write upPreposition
(English prepositions)- Though the storm raged up the East Coast, it has become increasingly apparent that New Jersey took the brunt of it.
Antonyms
* (toward the top of) downDerived terms
* give up * pick up * put up * ring up * take up * throw up * up a creek * up someone's alleyAdjective
(-)- I can’t believe it’s 3 a.m. and you’re still up .
- Time is up !
- I’m feeling up today.
- If you are up for a trip, let’s go.
- Smith is up to bat.
- What is up with that project at headquarters?
- Put the notebook face up on the table.
- Take a break and put your feet up .
- Sales are up from last quarter.
- Get up and give her your seat.
- ‘The Phantom! The Phantom is up from the cellars again!’
- The new notices are up as of last Tuesday.
- I’m not up on the latest news. What’s going on?
- Is the server back up ?
- The London train is on the up line.
- A Cosmopolitan is typically served up .
- I have said I was still in darkness, yet it was not the blackness of the last night; and looking up into the inside of the tomb above, I could see the faintest line of light at one corner, which showed the sun was up .
- Being "up" means having numerous graffiti in the tagging landscape.
- Graffiti writers want their names seen by writers and others so that they will be famous. Therefore writers are very serious about any opportunity to “get up'.” The throw-up became one of the fundamental techniques for getting ' up , and thereby gaining recognition and fame.
- From his great rooftop pieces, selected for high visibility, to his sneaky tags and fun loving stickers, he most certainly knows how to get up .
Antonyms
* (facing upwards) down * (on a higher level) down * down * (traveling towards a major terminus) downDerived terms
* know which end is up * up and running * up for grabs * upside * upside downNoun
(en-noun)- Up is a good way to go.
- I hate almost everything about my job. The only up is that it's so close to home.
- She lives in a two-up two-down.
Usage notes
* Up is not commonly used as object of a preposition.Antonyms
* (direction opposed to the pull of gravity) downDerived terms
* ups and downsVerb
(upp)- If we up the volume, we'll be able to make out the details.
- We upped anchor and sailed away.
citation, passage=After a dreadful performance in the opening 45 minutes, they upped their game after the break and might have taken at least a point from the match.}}
- It wasn’t long before they upped him to Vice President.
- He just upped and quit.
- He upped and punched that guy.
- And she didn't leave a letter, she just upped and ran away.