In court, uphold usually means a higher court agrees with a lower court’s decision and lets it stand. It can also mean to support or maintain a law, rule, or principle.

Simple meaning

  • If a court upholds a ruling, the ruling stays in effect.
  • The opposite is overturn , which means the higher court changes the decision.

Example

  • “The appeal was upheld” means the appeal failed and the original decision remained valid.

In plain English

If someone says, “The court upheld the conviction,” they mean the court decided the conviction was correct and did not cancel it.