An upward movement or look is directed towards a higher place or a higher level. She started once again on the steep upward climb She gave him a quick, upward look, then lowered her eyes. downward
If you refer to an upward trend or an upward spiral, you mean that something is increasing in quantity or price. the Army's concern that the upward trend in the numbers avoiding military service may continue downward
In a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin; -- opposed to downward; as, to tend or roll upward
spatially or metaphorically from a lower to a higher position; "look up!"; "the music surged up"; "the fragments flew upwards"; "prices soared upwards"; "upwardly mobile"