Above means in a higher position than something else. When a plane flies above the clouds, it's at a greater height. When you hang a picture above your desk, it's positioned higher on the wall. The stars shine above us in the night sky.

The word can describe physical height, like when a treehouse sits above the ground, and it can also describe other kinds of superiority or greater amounts. A student who scores above average performed better than most of their classmates. When someone is above suspicion, people trust them so much that they wouldn't even consider them capable of wrongdoing. A person who stays above the drama refuses to get involved in petty arguments.

The opposite of above is below. A temperature above freezing means warmer than 32°F, while below freezing means colder. When you read instructions that say “see above,” they're directing you to look at something written earlier, higher up on the page.

Above can suggest physical position and other meanings too. When we say someone is above lying or cheating, we mean they have too much integrity to do those things, as if their character places them at a higher level.