up-and-down

[ uhp-uhn-doun ]
See synonyms for up-and-down on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. moving alternately up and down: the up-and-down swing of levers; an up-and-down tune.

  2. having an uneven surface: up-and-down countryside.

  1. changeable: up-and-down luck.

  2. perpendicular or nearly so: a straight up-and-down hillside.

Origin of up-and-down

1
First recorded in 1610–20

Other words from up-and-down

  • up-and-downness, noun

Words Nearby up-and-down

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use up-and-down in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for up-and-down

up-and-down

adjective
  1. moving, executed, or formed alternately upwards and downwards

  2. mainly US very steep; vertical

adverb, prepositionup and down
  1. backwards and forwards (along)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012