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

The Virginia court says that if convicted, James could face up to 30 years in prison for each of the two charges, as well as up to $1 million in fines for each. —Callum Sutherland, Time, 10 Oct. 2025

That offense is a Class H felony in the state, and if convicted, Gilchrist could face up to 39 months in prison for each count. —Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025

Verb

Lodge, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, could face up to 10 years in prison. —Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 7 Oct. 2025

When violations result in death, perpetrators face up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to 8 billion rupiah (nearly $500,000). —Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 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