What is upper case


Upper-case letters Definition & Meaning

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Capital letters. (Compare lower-case letters.)

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

Words nearby upper-case letters

upper bound, Upper Canada, Upper Canadian, Upper Carboniferous, uppercase, upper-case letters, upper chamber, Upper Chinook, upper class, upperclassman, upper crust

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

MORE ABOUT UPPER CASE LETTERS

What are 

uppercase letters?

Uppercase letters are capital letters—the bigger, taller versions of letters (like W), as opposed to the smaller versions, which are called lowercase letters (like w).

Uppercase means the same thing as capital. Uppercase letters can also be called capitals.

Some uppercase letters are just larger, taller versions of their lowercase counterparts (like uppercase W and lowercase w or uppercase C and lowercase c), but in many cases the two versions of the letter take different forms altogether, such as uppercase A and lowercase a or uppercase B and lowercase b.

To capitalize a word is to make its first letter an uppercase letter. For example, to capitalize the word polish (which is here spelled with a lowercase p), you would write it with an uppercase P, as Polish.

The state of being capitalized or uppercase (or the process of making a letter an uppercase letter) is called capitalization, as in Please check your paper for proper punctuation and capitalization.

In English, uppercase letters are used at the beginning of words for a few different reasons. It is considered a standard rule of English to use an uppercase letter to start proper nouns (which are nouns that refer to specific people, places, or things—meaning one’s that have specific names), such as Jess, Mexico, and Nintendo. Using an uppercase letter at the start of a word can change the way the reader interprets its meaning, as in the case of polish (a verb meaning to make something shinier) and Polish (an adjective describing someone from Poland) or apple (the fruit) and Apple (the company).

We also use an uppercase letter for the first letter of the first word in a sentence. Sometimes, we use an uppercase letter for the first letter of each word in a title, as in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. This is sometimes called title case.

Some acronyms and abbreviations are written using all uppercase letters, such as NASA and U.S. A word written entirely in uppercase letters (like WHAT) is said to be written in caps or all caps.

Example: A lot of people don’t bother using uppercase letters in text messages unless they want to emphasize something.

Where does 

uppercase letter come from?

The term uppercase letter has been used since at least the 1730s. The words uppercase and lowercase come from printing. The process of physically printing things with printing presses involved trays, called cases, that were divided into compartments for holding different kinds of type (blocks with letters on them). The upper case held capital letters and the lower case held what came to be known as lowercase letters.

It can be confusing to know whether or not to use an uppercase letter in certain situations, but a capitalization guide can help.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to uppercase letter?

  • upper-case letter (alternate hyphenated spelling)
  • upper case letter (alternate two-word spelling)

What are some synonyms for uppercase letter?

  • capital letter
  • capital
  • uppercase (when uppercase is used as a noun)

What are some words that share a root or word element with uppercase letter?

  • uppercase
  • lowercase
  • lowercase letter
  • letter

What are some words that often get used in discussing uppercase letter?

  • capitalize
  • capitalization
  • spelling
  • first
  • word
  • sentence
  • title

How are 

uppercase letters used in real life?

Uppercase letters are used in the beginning of names and other proper nouns, at the beginning of sentences, at the beginning of words in titles, and in some abbreviations. In casual use, a word might be written in uppercase letters for emphasis.

She’s back with the classics and the riddles and the puzzles. The uppercase letters say APRIL NINTH. 👏🏻 @taylorswift13 You deserve this, so much. 💛 https://t.co/x7KsswdBPj

— anne⁰⁰ ఌ😺 (@ANNEtisocial) February 11, 2021

Identifying and matching uppercase and lowercase letters using these colorful underwater themed cards. Games make learning fun! 🐟 🐠 #IslipENL #LearningIsFun @WingElemIslip pic.twitter.com/QjUSLvuZ57

— Jaclyn Brady (@JaclynBrady17) February 5, 2021

i wonder if i’ll ever use uppercase letters for anything besides emphasis again

— h☼ (@hl_cutie) July 8, 2019

Try using 

uppercase letters!

Which of the following kinds of words is often spelled with an uppercase letter at the beginning?

A. proper nouns
B. the first word in a sentence
C. the first word in a title
D. all of the above

How to use upper-case letters in a sentence

  • Certain features of its history suggest why this may be the case.

    Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST

  • And, in the case of fluoride, at least, that doubt might actually be justified.

    Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST

  • Her latest book, Heretic: The Case for a Muslim Reformation, will be published in April by HarperCollins.

    Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

  • Their friendship began when Krauss, who was chairman of the physics department at Case Western in Cleveland, sought out Epstein.

    Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

  • A grand juror in the Ferguson case is suing to be able to explain exactly what went down in the courtroom.

    Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

  • “Perhaps you do not speak my language,” she said in Urdu, the tongue most frequently heard in Upper India.

    The Red Year|Louis Tracy

  • The case was an assault and battery that came off between two men named Brown and Henderson.

    The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various

  • In this case, I suspect, there was co-operant a strongly marked childish characteristic, the love of producing an effect.

    Children's Ways|James Sully

  • On the upper part of the stem the whorls are very close together, but they are more widely separated at the lower portion.

    How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

  • Sometimes in the case of large plants, cones have been known to occur on the tips of the branches of the Marsh Horsetail.

    How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

Uppercase Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.

com
  • Top Definitions
  • Quiz
  • Related Content
  • More About Uppercase
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  • British

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

[ uhp-er-keys ]

/ ˈʌp ərˈkeɪs /

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See synonyms for uppercase on Thesaurus.com

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.


adjective

(of an alphabetical character) capital.

Printing. pertaining to or belonging in the upper case.

verb (used with object), up·per·cased, up·per·cas·ing.

to print or write with an uppercase letter.

noun

a capital letter.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

Compare lowercase.

Origin of uppercase

First recorded in 1730–40; upper1 + case2

Words nearby uppercase

Upper Austria, upper bound, Upper Canada, Upper Canadian, Upper Carboniferous, uppercase, upper-case letters, upper chamber, Upper Chinook, upper class, upperclassman

Other definitions for uppercase (2 of 2)

upper case


noun Printing.

See under case2 (def. 8).

Origin of upper case

First recorded in 1675–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

MORE ABOUT UPPERCASE

What does 

uppercase mean?

Uppercase means the same thing as capital in capital letter—the bigger, taller version of a letter (like W), as opposed to the smaller version, which is called a lowercase letter (like w).

Uppercase letters can also be called capitals.

Some uppercase letters are just larger, taller versions of their lowercase counterparts (like uppercase W and lowercase w or uppercase C and lowercase c), but in many cases the two versions of the letter take different forms altogether, such as uppercase A and lowercase a or uppercase B and lowercase b.

Uppercase can also be used as a verb meaning the same thing as capitalize—to make a letter a capital or uppercase letter. For example, to uppercase the word polish (which is here spelled with a lowercase p), you would write it with an uppercase P, as Polish.

The state of being capitalized or uppercase (or the process of making a letter uppercase) is called capitalization, as in Please check your paper for proper punctuation and capitalization.

In English, uppercase letters are used at the beginning of words for a few different reasons. It is considered a standard rule of English to use an uppercase letter to start proper nouns (which are nouns that refer to specific people, places, or things—meaning one’s that have specific names), such as Jess, Mexico, and Nintendo. Using an uppercase letter at the start of a word can change the way the reader interprets its meaning, as in the case of polish (a verb meaning to make something shinier) and Polish (an adjective describing someone from Poland) or apple (the fruit) and Apple (the company).

We also use an uppercase letter for the first letter of the first word in a sentence. Sometimes, we use an uppercase letter for the first letter of each word in a title, as in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. This is sometimes called title case.

Some acronyms and abbreviations are written using all uppercase letters, such as NASA and U. S. A word written entirely in uppercase letters (like WHAT) is said to be written in caps or all caps.

Example: A lot of people don’t bother using uppercase letters in text messages unless they want to emphasize something.

Where does 

uppercase come from?

The first records of the word uppercase come from the 1730s. The words uppercase and lowercase come from printing. The process of physically printing things with printing presses involved trays, called cases, that were divided into compartments for holding different kinds of type (blocks with letters on them). The upper case held capital letters and the lower case held what came to be known as lowercase letters.

It can be confusing to know whether or not to use an uppercase letter in certain situations, but a capitalization guide can help.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to uppercase?

  • upper-case (alternate hyphenated spelling)
  • upper case (alternate two-word spelling)

What are some synonyms for uppercase?

  • capital (when uppercase is used as an adjective)
  • capital letter (when uppercase is used as a noun)
  • capitalize (when uppercase is used as a verb)

What are some words that share a root or word element with uppercase

  • lowercase

What are some words that often get used in discussing uppercase?

  • letter
  • capitalization
  • spelling
  • first
  • word
  • sentence
  • title

How is 

uppercase used in real life?

Uppercase letters are used in the beginning of names and other proper nouns, at the beginning of sentences, at the beginning of words in titles, and in some abbreviations. In casual use, a word might be written in uppercase for emphasis.

upset cause i cant capitalize numbers. i feel like there shld be lowercase and uppercase numbers.

— vi ♡’s maria & pg (@CANY0NVIA) February 11, 2021

Identifying and matching uppercase and lowercase letters using these colorful underwater themed cards. Games make learning fun! 🐟 🐠 #IslipENL #LearningIsFun @WingElemIslip pic.twitter.com/QjUSLvuZ57

— Jaclyn Brady (@JaclynBrady17) February 5, 2021

Please understand that when I type in uppercase i’m probably:
-Yelling
-Excited
-Surprised
-Frustrated
-Angry
-Wanna highlight a certain word
-Or just to lazy to change it back
Thank you. Good day.

— nesma the owner of truce (@cutmytrucee) September 18, 2020

Try using 

uppercase!

Which of the following kinds of words is often spelled with an uppercase letter at the beginning?

A. proper nouns
B. the first word in a sentence
C. the first word in a title
D. all of the above

Words related to uppercase

cap, capital, majuscule, capital letter

How to use uppercase in a sentence

  • Thus the lowercase f and y and the uppercase Q are shorn of their due proportions.

    The Booklover and His Books|Harry Lyman Koopman

  • He used combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters in two sizes in the inscriptions on the clock dial and in his writings.

    Smithsonian Institution - United States National Museum - Bulletin 240|Anonymous

  • The uppercase letters found within words are copied off in the order in which they appear in the inscription or phrase.

    Smithsonian Institution - United States National Museum - Bulletin 240|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for uppercase

upper case

/ printing /


noun

the top half of a compositor's type case in which capital letters, reference marks, and accents are kept

adjective (upper-case when prenominal)

of or relating to capital letters kept in this case and used in the setting or production of printed or typed matter

verb upper-case

(tr) to print with upper-case letters; capitalize

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

What is the uppercase character on the keyboard

The first thing that falls into the hands of a computer user is a keyboard and a mouse. The ability to use various functions with the help of these attributes allows you to quickly solve tasks. If you ask a beginner what upper case is, he will probably point to the keys located at the top. In fact, this is far from being the case.

Contents of the article

  • Understanding upper and lower case on the keyboard
  • Where is the upper case
  • Ways to switch case on the keyboard

What is the upper and lower case on the keyboard

These concepts have come down to us since the days of typewriters. When typing, the usual type of writing was performed in the standard position of the equipment, which was called the lower one, and capital letters were applied to the paper when the position of the printing rods was changed, by moving them to the upper position. It is this function that the keyboards of modern mobile and stationary printing devices are endowed with.

By means of the “Shift” functional transfer button from one mode to another, the PC user can switch to uppercase or uppercase letters when writing texts, depending on the content requirements. At the same time, the numbers indicate punctuation marks or other symbols that are used when printing documents. In other words, uppercase is a printing mode in which letters become uppercase and numbers change to symbols. The lower one is the usual image of numbers and letters.

Where is the uppercase

Two keys for switching from one print mode to another are located on the keyboard: one on the lower left, and the other on the right - also at the bottom. This is done for the convenience of fast typing. If the letter to be capitalized is on the right, then the left side is used. When switching, press simultaneously, first "Shift" and then the desired character. And when the desired character is located on the left - vice versa. If it is convenient for the user to press both keys with one hand, then he does just that, for example, to display a comma!

ATTENTION! The keyboard of some mobile devices may have only one "Shift" key. This is due to the compact size of office equipment.

The ease of use of the upper mode allows you to quickly switch the function of the desired symbol from one position to another. In addition, on the left, above the "Shift" button, there is a key labeled "Caps Lock", which has the same functionality, but a different principle of operation.

Keyboard shifting methods

When typing texts, two switching modes are used:

  • short-term;
  • long.

The first of the listed methods switches the keyboard only at the moment of pressing the "Shift" key. As soon as the user releases it, printing continues in the normal mode - in capital letters.

The second method allows, after pressing the "Caps Lock" button, to change to uppercase and type capital letters until there is no need to use them. A separate keyboard indicator lights up when this mode is enabled and goes out only when the specified key is pressed again, which confirms the transition to uppercase symbols.

IMPORTANT! When "Caps Lock" is on, using the "Shift" button will have the opposite effect: when pressed, normal characters, and when released, capital letters.

Long mode is used when writing headings or emphasizing article titles.

The ability to quickly change from one case to another allows PC users to easily type the required texts by quickly inserting the necessary characters and capital letters.

Online uppercase text converter - MrTranslate.ru

This online converter is designed to convert text in any language to uppercase. All letters as a result of the conversion will become uppercase, that is, "large". The conversion does not affect punctuation marks, special characters and numbers. It is possible to convert to upper case both the entire text and individual letters, phrases and words. Convert texts to upper case at the touch of a button.

UPPERCASE EXAMPLE

It is recommended to increase the case for text no longer than 30 thousand characters at a time. The maximum text size limit depends on the browser you are using. Stable operation of the converter with large texts is not guaranteed. Only plain text can be converted to uppercase: without graphics, tables, styles, and so on. The reverse conversion of uppercase to the original version is possible here.

Insert text to convert to upper case:

JavaScript must be enabled in your browser for the converter to work.

ALL CHARACTERS RANDOM SYMBOLS

The first letter of each word First letter of each sentence

Conversion result:

Uppercase characters are used in text primarily to visually represent the beginning of a sentence ("with a capital letter"). Separate words and phrases are written in uppercase if they want to form headings from them or highlight them from the general context. The entire text is drawn up in uppercase less often, they do this to enhance the effect of its perception. We can say that uppercase text is a simple and effective way to attract the attention of the reader, if it is impossible to do it in another way (by choosing the font size and typeface, color). This is often used on the Internet when placing ads, posting messages on forums or blogs, and so on.

When converting text letters to uppercase, you can specify (set settings) which characters should be converted to uppercase:

  • All characters - all characters of the text will be converted to uppercase, all letters will be converted to uppercase.
  • The first letter of each word - only the first letter of each word is converted to uppercase (capital letters, each word is capitalized).
  • First letter of each sentence - Only the first letter of each sentence will be uppercase (each sentence capitalized).
  • Random characters - which of the characters will be converted to upper case is determined randomly (arbitrarily). Each button press gives a different result. There is a special converter for random setting of both registers.

For the convenience of further use, the text converted to uppercase is immediately highlighted, right-click on it and copy it to the clipboard.

How do I convert text to upper case?

You can convert text to upper case manually, using special converter programs, text editors or online services.

Manually converting the text to upper case only makes sense if it is small, otherwise the task becomes laborious, you will have to re-enter all the text in the switched mode.

In most text editors, the function of converting to uppercase is practically not presented in its direct form. Despite the demand for this feature, in most cases you will not find such a "Upper case" button even in specialized word processors for programmers, typesetters, and journalists. From what you can find, this is a function to automatically set the capital letter at the beginning of a sentence. And in a text editor like Word, you can create for any piece of text a display style with the settings "Uppercase", but it will not directly convert the text to uppercase. If you copy such text into another text editor, the selected display styles are likely to be lost.

If you consider the case converter as a separate program, you will encounter various difficulties in using it. First, you will have to find such a converter program for your operating system, then install it and learn how to use it. If you use a computer at work, the installation of third-party programs may not be available at all due to security rules.

To resolve this situation, we decided to create an online service for translating texts into upper case. To use the Caps Lock online tool, you do not need to install or learn anything, the converter works in any browser and on any device. Online translation of all text characters to uppercase can be done on this page using the Internet browser of your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can make the text in capital letters at any time, because the service works around the clock. The process of converting text case to upper mode takes just a couple of seconds. On our website you can, as many people say, "translate text to uppercase" for free.

When typing on the keyboard, uppercase characters (UpperCase) can be obtained by holding down the Shift key while typing or by turning on the Caps Lock mode (capslock). Usually this option to enable capitalization is set by default in most computer systems, but there are exceptions depending on locale, regional settings and standards. The choice of case has come to us since the days of typewriters, which were used to create printed documents in the pre-computer era. Practically in all typewriters there were two registers, large and lower, which were switched by a special button. The Shift key (Shift) has an informal name "Register Transfer Buttons" or "Register Switching Keys". The button led to a vertical shift of the hammer with the letter, which hit the paper. This was first implemented in the 1870s and then widely used, several letters of different sizes or styles (italics, gothic) could be placed on the hammer at once. The Caps Lock key is the "Register Lock key", which actually fixed the shift key in the pressed position.

Clarification. Not all characters can be translated into the upper caste. Numbers, punctuation and most special characters are not converted to uppercase, leaving no visible changes after conversion. It is worth noting that some characters in both cases have the same representation (completely identical), so it may mistakenly seem that they are also not converted to upper case and remain visually unchanged after conversion, although from a technical point of view they are completely different characters with different codes. In the end, everything will depend on the composition, language and encoding of the text that you are going to convert to uppercase, as well as the regional settings of your system (locale), operating system, and other things. If during the process of converting to uppercase for the characters of your text there are corresponding capital equivalents, they will be replaced by them, if not, the characters will remain unchanged. If, after converting the case, some of the characters have become "squares", this means that your system does not have support for certain languages ​​\u200b\u200b(for example, Slavic, Oriental, etc.) or the necessary fonts are missing. You do not need to install them specifically, just copy and paste the text into the original document.

Do not overuse caps, as large amounts of uppercase text can cause an unpleasant reaction in the reader. A user's post or message is completely in uppercase, causing others to associate that the author is very annoyed or even screaming. Many sites generally prohibit or restrict the use of capslock, such uppercase text, or, as it is also called, caps. It is recommended to increase the upper case only for small areas of text that require attention.

Here, for example, is a common situation faced by everyone who has typed texts in the editor at least once. What to do if I typed the text in small letters, but it was necessary to use large ones? Now redo everything, turn on the caps and type the letters again. And if there are a lot of letters, the task of replacing letters with large ones becomes very time-consuming. How to convert text to caps automatically? Despite the importance of this feature when editing texts, most text editors do not have a case conversion function or are implemented in such a way that it is almost impossible to use it. Just use our online registry translator and get the text in upper letters in a couple of seconds. The system will change all lowercase letters to uppercase online. This is how the online translator in caps turned out.

So let's sum it up. The caps converter (uppercase online text converter) on this page will help you increase the case or text size online, translate the letters of the lower cash register into the upper one. Set caps lock text mode online with a simple click of a button, putting all the characters of the text in the upper mode. Our uppercase converter or case translator will instantly replace small letters with large ones in the text. Need to raise the register? Do you want to enlarge the letters of the text? Then you have come to the right page. According to our information, the register conversion function is very popular among users. If the text already contains uppercase letters, using the case enhancer will leave them unchanged. All small letters after pressing the button will become large, that is, all lowercase letters can be changed to uppercase automatically.

User Reviews uppercase text converter
  • You can quickly make any text in capital letters. Without the converter, you would have to retype it on the keyboard by turning on the caps or holding Shift. On a computer, this is even more or less possible, but on a tablet or mobile phone it is quite difficult. Converter to caps saves a lot of time. Just inserted the text and immediately the result is ready in capital letters.
  • The text will instantly become uppercase, just press the button. No matter what it was originally, all characters are converted to uppercase. Real translator in caps.
  • A tool for making text large. The numbers are not translated, only the letters become large. Different characters also do not change.
  • Made all the letters in the text capitalized, thanks. If you open additional settings, you can capitalize only individual words or the first letter of each word, capitalize that is.
  • A useful tool for editing texts and documents. For example, he quickly typed text and did not put capital letters at the beginning of a sentence. Most editors fix this themselves, but if yours doesn't have this feature or it's disabled. Now you can fix it instantly.
  • Converted all letters and symbols of the text to uppercase and uppercase.

    Learn more


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