face up

1 of 2

adjective or adverb

variants or less commonly faceup 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
Under Utah Law, Franke and Hildebrandt face up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each of their six counts of child abuse. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2023 If convicted, Donald could face up to 50 years in prison or a life sentence for the alleged murder, and up to five years for evidence tampering. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 6 Sep. 2023 He is scheduled for sentencing in January and could face up to five years in federal prison. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2023 After his girlfriend is possessed during a trip to a cabin in the woods, Ash is once again forced to face up to evil. Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 6 Sep. 2023 Herbert could face up to 10 years in prison for the charge of theft of government money and up to five years for the charge of making a false statement, prosecutors said. Maria Elena Little Endara, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2023 In Utah, a person found guilty of aggravated child abuse charges can face up to 15 years in prison. Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 31 Aug. 2023 If convicted of the charges, the 27-year-old could face up to seven years and four months in prison. David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023 If found guilty, individuals charged with money laundering could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Amarachi Orie, CNN, 17 Aug. 2023
Verb
James and Jennifer Crumbley are scheduled to be sentenced together on April 9 and each faces up to 15 years in prison. Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 20 Mar. 2024 Gutierrez Reed faces up to 18 months in prison for negligently loading a live bullet into Alec Baldwin‘s gun and causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024 Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Eric Levenson, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 The armorer faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine after the involuntary-manslaughter conviction, according to the Associated Press. Herb Scribner, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 She will be sentenced next month and faces up to 15 years in prison. Jacey Fortin, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Smith, 53, of Sunrise, now faces up to 20 years in prison on each of two wire fraud convictions at her sentencing before U.S. District Judge James Cohn. Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 Federal prosecutors are seeking the maximum sentences for the officers. McAlpin, Middleton, Dedmon, Opdyke and Hartfield each face up to 20 years in prison. Emma Tucker, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024 Under a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend probation rather than prison time for the pair, who face up to 10 years behind bars just for their gun offenses. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'face up.' 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 Or Adverb

1809, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1888, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of face up was in 1809

Dictionary Entries Near face up

Cite this Entry

“Face up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20up. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

faceup

adverb
face·​up ˈfā-ˈsəp How to pronounce faceup (audio)
: with the face up
the card fell faceup
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