If something or someone is uphill or is moving uphill, they are near the top of a hill or are going up a slope.
He had been running uphill a long way.
The man was no more than ten yards away and slightly uphill.
...trees that ran in a ragged line uphill from the ledge.
[Also + from]
Uphill is also an adjective.
...a long, uphill journey.
The walk from the village to Greystones was uphill all the way.
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
If you refer to something as an uphill struggle or an uphill battle, you mean that it requires a great deal of effort and determination, but it should be possible to achieve it.
It had been an uphill struggle to achieve what she had wanted.
It's an uphill battle but I think we're going to win.
Synonyms: arduous, hard, taxing, difficult More Synonyms of uphill
More Synonyms of uphill
uphill in British English
(ˈʌpˈhɪl)
adjective
1.
inclining, sloping, or leading upwards
2.
requiring arduous and protracted effort
an uphill task
adverb
3.
up an incline or slope; upwards
4.
against difficulties
noun
5.
a rising incline; ascent
uphill in American English
(ˈʌpˈhɪl)
adverb
1.
toward the top of a hill or incline; upward
2.
with difficulty; laboriously
adjective
3.
going or sloping up; rising
4.
calling for prolonged effort; laborious
5.
located on high ground
noun
6.
a sloping rise or ascent
Examples of 'uphill' in a sentence
uphill
His successor faces an uphill struggle to get it moving.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The car is a 20-minute uphill walk.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I think it will be a real uphill struggle for them without Costa.
The Sun (2017)
But in most sectors this remains an uphill battle, ” writes Sykes.
Computing (2010)
The last 5f are uphill.
The Sun (2016)
There is a 5f course, uphill and testing which runs straight across the centre of the track.
The Sun (2016)
So it was a bit of an uphill fight for me.
The Sun (2015)
This is going to be a very uphill task.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
But thinking this hard for this long proved an uphill trek.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Was it the fact that large portions of this walk were uphill and conducted at great speed?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Then resist the temptation to go uphill to get into freer spaces.
Eric Newby A BOOK OF LANDS AND PEOPLES (2003)
This stiff uphill finish should suit and he can go one better.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Making our money last until we next get paid is always an uphill struggle.
The Sun (2013)
We still have a chance but it is an uphill battle.
The Sun (2008)
It is likely to prove an uphill task.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Victims often face an uphill struggle to clear their names and their credit files.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
There is a sharp decent to the the turn an uphill finish.
The Sun (2016)
It was always going to be an uphill struggle.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It gives a good core workout through balancing and when you go uphill it helps to work on your leg strength.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
An uphill 5f course runs across the centre of the track.
The Sun (2011)
It looks like being uphill all the way until the end of the season for Barnet.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
We've been fighting uphill from day one.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The house is approached by a long, winding uphill driveway through the grounds.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It's still uphill all the way.
Christianity Today (2000)
The people who inhabited America at that time were fighting an uphill battle.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The last 5f is uphill.
The Sun (2015)
A 5f course, uphill and testing runs straight across the centre of the track.
The Sun (2012)
In other languages
uphill
British English: uphill /ˈʌpˈhɪl/ ADVERB
If something or someone is uphill or is moving uphill, they are near the top of a hill or are going up a slope.
He had been running uphill a long way.
American English: uphill
Arabic: صَاعِداً
Brazilian Portuguese: morro acima
Chinese: 上坡
Croatian: uzbrdo
Czech: do kopce
Danish: op ad bakke
Dutch: bergop
European Spanish: cuesta arriba
Finnish: ylämäkeen
French: en amont
German: bergauf
Greek: ανηφορικά
Italian: in salita
Japanese: 坂の上へ
Korean: 위를 향하여
Norwegian: oppoverbakke
Polish: w górę
European Portuguese: acima
Romanian: sus
Russian: в гору
Latin American Spanish: cuesta arriba
Swedish: uppåt
Thai: ซึ่งเป็นเนิน ซึ่งขึ้นเขา
Turkish: yokuş yukarı
Ukrainian: вгору
Vietnamese: lên dốc
Chinese translation of 'uphill'
uphill
(ˈʌpˈhɪl)
adj
[climb, journey]上坡的 (shàngpō de)
(fig)[task]艰(艱)难(難)的 (jiānnán de)
adv
[walk, push]往坡上 (wǎng pōshang)
an uphill struggle or battle (to do sth)(做某事的)艰(艱)苦奋(奮)斗(鬥) ((zuò mǒushì de) jiānkǔ fèndòu)
1 (adjective)
Definition
sloping or leading upwards
a long, uphill journey
Synonyms
ascending
rising
upward
She started once again on the steep upward climb.
mounting
climbing
Opposites
descending
,
downhill
,
lowering
2 (adjective)
Definition
requiring a great deal of effort
It had been an uphill struggle to achieve what she wanted.
Synonyms
arduous
The task was more arduous than he had calculated.
hard
Coping with three babies is very hard work.
taxing
You won't be asked to do anything too taxing.
difficult
It is difficult to read the sign from here.
tough
Whoever wins the election is going to have a tough job.
exhausting
She had set herself an exhausting schedule.
punishing
his punishing work schedule
gruelling
The flight was more gruelling than I had expected.
strenuous
Avoid strenuous exercise in the evening.
laborious
Keeping the garden tidy all year round can be a laborious task.
wearisome
Sisyphean
(noun)
Definition
a difficulty
(South Africa)
This job has been a real uphill.
Synonyms
difficulty
The main difficulty has been getting enough students to try out the scheme.
problem
the economic problems of the inner city
trouble
a charity that helps women in trouble with the law
dilemma
The issue raises a moral dilemma.
headache (informal)
Their biggest headache is the increase in the price of fuel.
hassle (informal)
I don't think it's worth the money or the hassle.
can of worms (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of difficult
Definition
not easy to do, understand, or solve
It is difficult to read the sign from here.
Synonyms
hard,
tough,
taxing,
demanding,
challenging,
painful,
exacting,
formidable,
uphill,
strenuous,
problematic,
arduous,
onerous,
laborious,
burdensome,
wearisome,
no picnic (informal),
toilsome,
like getting blood out of a stone
in the sense of dilemma
Definition
a situation offering a choice between two equally undesirable alternatives
The issue raises a moral dilemma.
Synonyms
predicament,
problem,
difficulty,
spot (informal),
fix (informal),
mess,
puzzle,
jam (informal),
embarrassment,
plight,
strait,
pickle (informal),
how-do-you-do (informal),
quandary,
perplexity,
tight corner or spot
in the sense of exhausting
She had set herself an exhausting schedule.
Synonyms
tiring,
hard,
testing,
taxing,
difficult,
draining,
punishing,
crippling,
fatiguing,
wearying,
gruelling,
sapping,
debilitating,
strenuous,
arduous,
laborious,
enervating,
backbreaking
Synonyms of 'uphill'
uphill
Explore 'uphill' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of gruelling
Definition
extremely severe or tiring
The flight was more gruelling than I had expected.
Synonyms
exhausting,
demanding,
difficult,
tiring,
trying,
hard,
taxing,
grinding,
severe,
crushing,
fierce,
punishing,
harsh,
stiff,
brutal,
fatiguing,
strenuous,
arduous,
laborious,
backbreaking
in the sense of hard
Definition
showing or requiring a lot of effort or application
Coping with three babies is very hard work.
Synonyms
exhausting,
tough,
exacting,
formidable,
fatiguing,
wearying,
rigorous,
uphill,
gruelling,
strenuous,
arduous,
laborious,
burdensome,
Herculean,
backbreaking,
toilsome
in the sense of hassle
Definition
a great deal of trouble
I don't think it's worth the money or the hassle.
Synonyms
trouble,
problem,
difficulty,
upset,
bother,
grief (informal),
trial,
struggle,
uphill (South Africa),
inconvenience
in the sense of headache
Definition
any cause of worry, difficulty, or annoyance
Their biggest headache is the increase in the price of fuel.
Synonyms
problem,
worry,
trouble,
bother,
nuisance,
inconvenience,
bane,
vexation
in the sense of laborious
Definition
involving great exertion or prolonged effort
Keeping the garden tidy all year round can be a laborious task.
Synonyms
hard,
difficult,
tiring,
exhausting,
wearing,
tough,
fatiguing,
uphill,
strenuous,
arduous,
tiresome,
onerous,
burdensome,
herculean,
wearisome,
backbreaking,
toilsome (literary)
in the sense of problem
Definition
something or someone that is difficult to deal with
the economic problems of the inner city
Synonyms
difficulty,
trouble,
dispute,
plight,
obstacle,
dilemma,
headache (informal),
disagreement,
complication,
predicament,
quandary,
turf war (informal)
in the sense of punishing
his punishing work schedule
Synonyms
hard,
taxing,
demanding,
grinding,
wearing,
tiring,
exhausting,
uphill,
gruelling,
strenuous,
arduous,
burdensome,
backbreaking
in the sense of strenuous
Definition
requiring or involving the use of great energy or effort
Avoid strenuous exercise in the evening.
Synonyms
demanding,
hard,
tough,
exhausting,
taxing,
uphill,
arduous,
laborious,
Herculean,
tough going,
toilsome (literary),
unrelaxing
in the sense of taxing
You won't be asked to do anything too taxing.
Synonyms
demanding,
trying,
wearing,
heavy,
tough,
tiring,
punishing,
exacting,
stressful,
sapping,
onerous,
burdensome,
wearisome,
enervating
in the sense of tough
Definition
difficult or troublesome to do or deal with
Whoever wins the election is going to have a tough job.
Synonyms
hard,
difficult,
exhausting,
troublesome,
uphill,
strenuous,
arduous,
thorny,
laborious,
irksome
Additional synonyms
in the sense of trouble
a charity that helps women in trouble with the law
Synonyms
difficulty,
hot water (informal),
predicament,
deep water (informal),
spot (informal),
danger,
mess,
dilemma,
scrape (informal),
pickle (informal),
dire straits,
tight spot
in the sense of upward
Definition
directed or moving towards a higher place or level