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sideways

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sideways¹

  • /ˈsaɪdweɪz/

Where it comes from

From side + -ways.

adjective more sideways · most sideways

  1. Moving or directed toward one side. Giving Mary a sideways glance, he said,[…].
  2. informal Positioned sideways (with a side to the front). There was a stack of papers in front of each seat at the table, but each stack was sideways.
  3. informal Neither moving upward nor moving downward. Once we get out of this sideways economy, our figures will more accurately reflect what we're truly capable of.
  4. informal, usually, with "with" In conflict (with); not compatible (with). He was constantly getting sideways with his boss till he got fired.

adverb more sideways · most sideways

  1. With a side to the front. He builds houses sideways, with the front door on the side.
  2. Towards one side. A bishop moves only diagonally; a rook, only sideways, forward, and back.
  3. Askance; sidelong.
  4. informal Neither upward nor downward. The economy has been moving sideways for several months now.
  5. US, colloquial Not as planned; towards a worse outcome. We realized the project could go sideways very quickly if we didn't get the sales and marketing people on our side.

    Similar: south

Similar: askance, askant, askile, broadside, laterally, sideling, sidelong, sidely, sideward, sideways, sidewise, sideyways · Opposite: backwards, directly, forwards, towards

sideways²

  • /ˈsaɪdweɪz/

Where it comes from

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

noun

  1. plural plural of sideway And he was just taking byways and sideways, travelling in the peripheries of civilization, yeah?

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: sidelong, sidewise, obliquely, oblique, indirect, crabwise, askew, awry, backwards, aside, away, profile, askance, side, bad, wrong

adverb

Similar: askance, askant, askile, broadside, laterally, sideling, sidelong, sidely, sideward, sideways, sidewise, sideyways · Opposite: backwards, directly, forwards, towards

Translations

Every language

adj moving or directed towards one side

Españolde lado, de costado, de soslayo, de refilón, de reojo, de costadillo
Deutschseitlich, Seiten-

adj positioned sideways

Deutschseitlich

adj neither moving up nor moving down

Deutschauf der Stelle tretend

adv with a side to the front

Françaisde côté
Deutschseitlich

adv towards one side

Françaisde côté
Deutschseitwärts, zu Seite

adv askance

Françaisde travers
Deutschschräg, schief, seitwärts

adv neither upward nor downward

Deutschauf der Stelle

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"sideways." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sideways. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sideways. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sideways

Chicago

"sideways." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sideways.

BibTeX
@misc{sideways_2026,
  title = {sideways},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sideways},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}