Upper \Up"per\, a.; comp. of Up. Being further up, literally or figuratively; higher in place, position, rank, dignity, or the like; superior; as, the upper lip; the upper side of a thing; the upper house of a legislature.

The upper hand, the superiority; the advantage. See To have the upper hand, under Hand. --Jowett (Thucyd.).

Upper Bench (Eng. Hist.), the name of the highest court of common law (formerly King's Bench) during the Commonwealth.

Upper case, the top one of a pair of compositor's cases. See the Note under 1st Case, n., 3.

Upper covert (Zo["o]l.), one of the coverts situated above the bases of the tail quills.

Upper deck (Naut.), the topmost deck of any vessel; the spar deck.

Upper leather, the leather for the vamps and quarters of shoes.

Upper strake (Naut.), the strake next to the deck, usually of hard wood, and heavier than the other strakes.

Upper ten thousand, or (abbreviated) Upper ten, the ten thousand, more or less, who are highest in position or wealth; the upper class; the aristocracy. [Colloq.]

Upper topsail (Naut.), the upper half of a double topsail.

Upper works (Naut.), all those parts of the hull of a vessel that are properly above water.

Upper world.
   (a) The atmosphere.
   (b) Heaven.
   (c) This world; the earth; -- in distinction from the underworld.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)