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, Menendez Abdala could face up to 15 years behind bars. —Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025

What Happens Next If convicted, Nunez could face up to 10 years in prison. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

Verb

First, have the musician fully extend their arm with the palm facing up. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025

If convicted on all counts, Yang faces up to 98 years and three months in prison and fines totaling $260,000. —Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025

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