adjective
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leaning or inclined to one side
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greater in weight, height, or size on one side
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lopsided
Explanation
Something that's lopsided is crooked or off-balance, like your grandma's lopsided hat, which sits askew on her head. You can use the adjective lopsided to describe things that are crooked or asymmetrical. A bad toothache might cause one side of your jaw to swell, leaving your face feeling — and looking — lopsided. You might say that your school's student council election is lopsided if one candidate is clearly more qualified than the other. The word lopsided was originally lapsided, and in the early 1700s it almost always referred to a tilting ship.
Vocabulary lists containing lopsided
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lopsided head-to-head records are not unusual at the highest level but some are considerably more dominant than others.
From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026
Lopsided losses by Oklahoma State and Tennessee, who were both ahead of the Sooners in the latest poll, are among the events that should help the Sooners move up several spots.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2023
Lopsided corporate hedging presents yet another risk to the currency as it touched a fresh 18-month low on Friday and jitters swept global markets.
From Reuters • May 6, 2022
Lopsided wins: Corona Centennial defeated Riverside King 84-0 on Thursday night after leading 49-0 after one quarter.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2021
Lopsided white sheep faced a pair of stout rabbits evidently suffering from the mumps.
From Black-Eyed Susan by Phillips, Ethel Calvert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
