up-and-down
Americanadjective
-
moving alternately up and down.
the up-and-down swing of levers; an up-and-down tune.
-
having an uneven surface.
up-and-down countryside.
-
changeable.
up-and-down luck.
-
perpendicular or nearly so.
a straight up-and-down hillside.
adjective
-
moving, executed, or formed alternately upwards and downwards
-
very steep; vertical
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of up-and-down
First recorded in 1610–20
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.
He often gets bitten by bedbugs and walks with a cane, making climbing up and down from his bed difficult.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
But in doing so, the court swore up and down that its Louisiana decision did not overrule Allen v.
From Slate • May 26, 2026
He described spotting mysterious "orange orbs flaring up and down" when investigating "loud thuds heard in the mountains" on a test range where others had spotted UFOs in preceding days.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
He slinks along a wall, scales a cliff, navigates drain pipes and leaps up and down from his preferred perch—behind the left shoulder of Din Djarin, aka the Mandalorian warrior.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Kids are running up and down the wet sand chasing geese, while the younger ones seat themselves in the sand, buckets and shovels in hand.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
