upstream

Moving toward where a river starts, against the direction of the water.

• The upstream journey took three hours.
• Salmon make an upstream migration each year.
• The upstream section of the river is narrow.

Similar words: upriver

Opposites: downstream

Common phrases: upstream journey, upstream movement, upstream section

Happening earlier in a process and often affecting what happens later.

• An upstream error affected every later calculation.
• The company changed its upstream suppliers.
• Better housing addresses upstream causes of poor health.

How to use it: upstream of something (Data collection is upstream of analysis.)

Similar words: earlier, prior

Opposites: downstream

Common phrases: upstream process, upstream causes, upstream supplier

To get a software change accepted into the original project so its developers maintain and share it.

• We plan to upstream this patch.
• The team upstreamed its bug fixes last month.
• Can you upstream these changes before the next release?

Similar words: contribute upstream

Common phrases: upstream a patch, upstream changes, upstream something