adjective
-
leaning or inclined to one side
-
greater in weight, height, or size on one side
Other Word Forms
- lopsidedly adverb
- lopsidedness noun
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.
The results were lopsided: 67% to 17% in favor of Palestinians.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
The result is a lopsided labour market: opportunities for the educated, but too few pathways for everyone else.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
Further from the battlefield, though, the picture is less lopsided, particularly in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026
There are lots of birthday pictures, and I smile at all the lopsided cakes.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
