up-and-down

1 of 2

adjective

1
: marked by alternate upward and downward movement, action, or surface
2

up and down

2 of 2

adverb

1
: to and fro
paced up and down
2
: so as to move upward and then downward repeatedly
jumping up and down
3
archaic : here and there especially throughout an area
4
: with regard to every particular : thoroughly
knew the territory up and down
up and down preposition

Examples of up-and-down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Amid the up-and-down action, Green picked up a technical foul. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 It’s been a long, up-and-down basketball season for St. John Bosco. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 The figure tracks with the up-and-down year lobster fishermen experienced, said Dave Cousens, a fishermen based out of Criehaven island and a former president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. Patrick Whittle, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 This year’s team dedicated itself to defense, although that wasn’t obvious in the first quarter, when O’Dowd took a 19-18 lead after an up-and-down eight minutes. Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024 Kerr acknowledged Thompson wasn’t thrilled with the decision and that fueled what turned out to be his best offensive performance in an up-and-down season. John Coon, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024 Klay Thompson, who has been up-and-down of late, had one of his better games, scoring 26 points shooting 11-for-19 from the field primarily in the mid-range with a cold shot from 3. Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024 The up-and-down nature of their season was on full display over the past three games with an inexplicable 133-120 loss to the Detroit Pistons, a 135-106 rout of the defending champion Denver Nuggets and a 127-113 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 13 Feb. 2024 Then, after an up-and-down spring training, Rodriguez opened the season in Triple-A, and the team used his choppy camp as reasoning. Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2024
Adverb
On the courts of the Roundball Classic, Vaccaro forged connections with all kinds of coaches and athletes up and down the East Coast. William Goodman, Men's Health, 8 Apr. 2023 Councilmember Marcus Bush said that repealing the cruising ban was not just about being free to take a person’s ride up and down a city street. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2023 Over the coming weeks, the ship would be seen cruising up and down the Hudson River, astounding locals who gawked at its six decks, helipad and hot tub. Paul Kiel, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2023 In 1953, the same year Roger Mastrude drove up and down the West Coast for the Foreign Policy Association, Langston Hughes published a short story in the Chicago Defender in which his character Simple, a stand-in for the common man, wishes to become a giant. Andrew Lanham, The New Republic, 5 Apr. 2023 Other interior features include smart air vents that swivel side to side and up and down with the aid of electric motors. Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 5 Apr. 2023 It's always been very up and down. Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2023 And round heads are the easiest to move up and down and rotate while also concealing the mechanical joints and electronics inside. IEEE Spectrum, 11 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'up-and-down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1755, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of up-and-down was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near up-and-down

up-and-coming

up-and-down

up and down

Cite this Entry

“Up-and-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/up-and-down. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

up-and-down

adjective
1
: marked by alternate upward and downward movement, action, or surface
2

More from Merriam-Webster on up-and-down

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!