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

Pattis, Diamantis’ attorney, has previously said his client could face up to 10 years just from the first conviction. —Dave Altimari, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026

If convicted as charged, each defendant would face up to seven years in county jail. —City News Service, Daily News, 17 Apr. 2026

Verb

Amiir Ali, 19, faces up to 10 years in prison. —Wcco Staff, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026

Place two or three seed potatoes on top of the soil with the sprouts facing up, then cover them with 6 inches of soil. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

1809, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1888, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for face up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup

Kids Definition

faceup

adverb

face·​up ˈfā-ˈsəp 

: with the face up

the card fell faceup