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

Both Michael Kochen and Herek face up to 20 years in prison after being convicted of the main conspiracy charge and several other kickback counts. —Jay Weaver december 23, Miami Herald, 23 Dec. 2025

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in June 2026, when Alex Nguyen will face up to eight years in federal prison, Sam Nguyen will face up to five years in federal prison and Newport Gold Post will face a maximum sentence of five years of probation and a $500,000 fine. —Sierra Van Der Brug, Oc Register, 20 Dec. 2025

Verb

Mangione faces up to life in prison if convicted on a second-degree murder charge in New York. —Michael Ruiz , Brendan McDonald, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2026, and faces up to 15 years in prison. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 16 Dec. 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