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

Those convicted of aiding suicide in Canada can face up to 14 years in prison. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026

Perez was found lying face up in the park, which runs nearly 3 miles from Washington Heights to Inwood and abuts the Harlem River Drive. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026

Verb

Diiorio faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of both charges, prosecutors said. — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

If convicted on the new charges, Miller could face up to 25 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and multiple years of supervised release. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 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