sideways

adverb or adjective

side·​ways ˈsīd-ˌwāz 

1

: from one side

2

: with one side forward

turn sideways

3

a

: in a lateral direction or downward to one side

hopped sideways

slump sideways

b

: askance

look sideways at someone

Synonyms of sideways

• sidewise
• laterally
• obliquely

Examples of sideways in a Sentence

I had to walk sideways to get between the two towering piles of boxes

she glanced at us sideways when she heard us claim we weren't there that night

Recent Examples on the Web

This may cause gobs of wet clay to fly sideways into the hair of other moviegoers. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025

After all, aren’t human drivers predictably chaotic when things go sideways? —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 22 Dec. 2025

The forest had fallen sideways. —Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025

The gas is pushed sideways away from the supermassive black hole at a velocity of hundreds of thousands of miles per hour (hundreds of km per second), a dynamical signature that the team saw with JWST. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 17 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Phrases Containing sideways

• knock (someone) sideways

Rhymes for sideways

• aldolase
• alleyways
• amylase
• anaphase
• anhydrase
• anyways
• arginase
• cabarets
• carriageways
• castaways
• catalase
• cellulase

Kids Definition

sideways

adverb or adjective

side·​ways ˈsīd-ˌwāz 

1

: from one side

viewed the stage sideways

2

: with one side forward

turn sideways

3

: to one side

fell sideways