Uplift

Imagine trying to push a stubborn piece of furniture up a flight of stairs. Just like the effort you exert to elevate the couch to a higher floor, natural processes like tectonic activity push the Earth's surface to higher elevations. In both cases, there's a force working to lift something from a lower position to a higher one; your muscles for the couch, and tectonic forces for the Earth's crust.
Practice Version

Uplift: Any process that moves Earth's surface to a higher elevation. Uplift. Uplift is the upward movement of Earth's surface, often caused by tectonic forces.