🗓️ Idiom: Go Up in the World (verb)
💬 Meaning
- To become more successful, especially in career or social status.
- To improve your position or reputation over time.
🧠 Example Sentences
- After starting her own company, Maria has really gone up in the world.
- When people saw him featured in a business magazine, they knew he’d gone up in the world.
- He used to work in customer service, but now he’s managing the entire sales division — he’s definitely gone up in the world.
🏛️ Origin
The phrase dates back to the 1500s and comes from the idea of moving physically upward to represent progress or improvement. In earlier English society, people who gained wealth or higher social standing were said to have “gone up,” just as townspeople would travel “up to London” for better opportunities. Over time, it came to describe career and status advancement more generally.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Since her promotion to director, everyone agrees that she has _______.
Answer
gone up in the world
2. Multiple choice:
What does “go up in the world” mean?
a) To move to a different country
b) To become more successful or respected
c) To travel more often
Answer
b) To become more successful or respected
3. Change the sentence using “go up in the world”:
“After years of hard work, he finally achieved a senior position.”
Answer
After years of hard work, he finally went up in the world.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
📚 Learning Resources
👉 Career Development Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👥 Support Spaces
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
⭐️ Extras
📫 Get a Daily Idiom
🚀 Build a Business with AI
Leave a Reply