face up

1 of 2

adjective or adverb

variants or less commonly faceup

ˌfās-ˈəp 

or face-up

: with the face up

After all the cards have been dealt, nondealer takes the top card from his pile and places it on the table, face up.

—Jack Botermans et al.

It didn't matter whether a phone was on or off, or whether it was face up or face down on a desk.

—Ralph K. M. Haurwitz

… we set the table with the forks' tines aggressively face-up.

—Molly O'Neill

For abdominal-flattening crunches, lie faceup on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

—Michele Meyer

—usually hyphenated before a noun

Players start with four face-up cards …

—Laura McQuarrie

face up

2 of 2

verb

faced up; facing up; faces up

intransitive verb

: to confront or deal directly with someone or something previously avoided

—usually used with to

faced up to my fears

Examples of face up in a Sentence

Adjective or adverb

The cards were dealt faceup.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective or adverb

If convicted of all charges, Humber and Allison each face up to 220 years in prison. —Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2024

Bernstein analysts said Google could face up to $100 billion in such lawsuits. —Jennifer Elias, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2024

Verb

She could be charged with bail jumping and face up to five years in federal prison, according to CNN. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024

Smirnov, a native of Ukraine, faces up to 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the four counts. —Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

1809, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1888, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

faceup

adverb

face·​up ˈfā-ˈsəp 

: with the face up

the card fell faceup