Other forms: ascending, ascended, ascends
To ascend is to climb or move upward. Ascend the stairs, ascend to the throne, the balloon ascended.
It is formal, and it covers physical climbing and rising in rank alike: ascend to the throne, ascend to high office. In religion, the Ascension is Christ's rising into heaven. Note ascent, the noun, which is spelt with a t and is constantly confused with assent, meaning agreement; and descend, which does the same work downward.
1verbascendTo climb or move upward.
“The climbers ascended slowly through the snow towards the summit.”
2verbriseTo rise to a higher rank or throne.
“He ascended to the throne at roughly twenty-four.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
ascend is an upward movement.
Also accepted in games: go up
Latin ascendere is ad plus scandere, to climb. Descend, transcend and scale come from the same climbing.
Latin
ascendō — to go up, climb up to
Old French
ascendre
Middle English
ascenden
English, today
ascend
Built from
From Middle English ascenden, borrowed from Old French ascendre, from Latin ascendō (“to go up, climb up to”), from ad (“to”) + scandō (“to climb”); see scan. Unrelated to accede other than common ad prefix.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA