Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use sideways in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, adverb

Sideways means moving or directed toward one side. Example: “He gave the ball a sideways kick.”

Examples of sideways by meaning

adjectiveMoving or directed toward one side.

  • He gave the ball a sideways kick.

adjectivePositioned 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.

adjectiveNeither 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.

adjectiveIn conflict (with); not compatible (with).

  • He was constantly getting sideways with his boss till he got fired.

adverbWith a side to the front.

  • He builds houses sideways, with the front door on the side.

adverbTowards one side.

  • A bishop moves only diagonally; a rook, only sideways, forward, and back.
  • He looked sideways at the new arrival, wondering who she was.

adverbNeither upward nor downward.

  • The economy has been moving sideways for several months now.

adverbNot 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.
  • As we walked deeper into the darkness, we both knew this could go sideways in a heartbeat.2011, D. P. Lyle, chapter 78, in Hot Lights, Cold Steel, →ISBN, page 340
  • It feels like the probability of something going sideways here is higher.2023 May 20, Tabby Kinder, George Hammond, quoting Ivan Matkovic, “So long, San Francisco”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London...

More sentences with sideways

  • He was kicked sideways by the force of the blast.From the entry kick
  • A ship surges forwards, sways sideways and heaves up.From the entry surge
  • He's no longer up to the job, move him sideways.From the entry move sideways
  • A drum horse called Apollo would not behave, skittering sideways determinedly.6 May 2023, Rachel Cooke, “It was ludicrous but also magnificent: the coronation stirred every emotion”, in The Guardian. From the entry drum horse
  • You might see the oddity of a “witch window” sideways by the peak of the pointy roof.2021 June 13, Jenay Zapparelli, The Book of Beautiful Feelings: Thee Quintessential Guide to Deliberate Creation, BookonFire Press, →ISBN…. From the entry witch window
  • "Nah, look at it sideways and it's a croissant," replied The Brodester65, "It's a puppy!!!!2019 August 16, Danny Katz, “Puppy or croissant? Another photo sets the internet (and world) ablaze”, in The Sydney Morning Herald…. From the entry defs
  • Down is up and up is sideways and many words have taken on new meaning.2017 July 27, Mary Schmich, “It's hard to understand Donald Trump without this Trumplandia Dictionary”, in Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.…. From the entry Trumplandia
  • The boat swings sideways and we have to easy oar or risk slamming into the bank.2014, Pip Harry, Head of the River, page 82. From the entry catch a crab
  • Swatted sideways, she flew face-first into a wooden cask at the edge of the well.2010, Allen Williams, The Witches' Kitchen, Little Brown, →ISBN, pages 67-68. From the entry cleaving
  • The aircraft crabbed sideways in the cross-winds and leveled to horizontal.2007, Pat DePaolo, The Beijing Games, →ISBN, page 454. From the entry crab
  • She watched the horse chew gnashingly, his lower jaw slipping sideways.2004, Mike Barnes, Contrary angel, page 132. From the entry gnashingly
  • "My children move forward, backward, and turning OK, but I can't get them to go straight sideways.2004, Sheila Kogan, Step by Step: A Complete Movement Education Curriculum, second edition, Champaign, I.L.: Human Kinetics, →ISBN, page 80. From the entry frontish
  • “I care!” Philippe said defiantly, with a sideways glance at Loulou.1997, Barbara Sohmers, The Fox and the Puma, page 8. From the entry circusses
  • " Larry sneered, kicking sideways and giving Jamie a painful thrust in the leg.1986, Elaine Bissell, The Kendall Women, page 112. From the entry huggie
  • Moving the cage sideways directs the chain onto a different sprocket.1984, John Forester, “Derailleur Adjustment”, in Effective Cycling, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, published 1985, →ISBN, part II (Bicycle…. From the entry derailleur
  • Defensive backs run sideways and backward and perform carioca (crossover) steps.1982, Arthur J. Helfet, Disorders of the knee, page 388. From the entry carioca
  • Scalp, bones and brain gobbeted the jeep as the dead boy screwed and fell sideways.1972, Hugh Atkinson, The Most Savage Animal, page 242. From the entry gobbet
  • Backwards or forwards (or sideways) Foo ((ugh)) and Ghu ((!)) cannot be united!1951 November, Pike Pickens, “Sez You”, in Quandry, number 15, archived from the original on 07 Jun 2011. From the entry foo
  • Sideways hurled The krang o ' a warld The sun has flensed Is lyin ' forenenst.1926, Hugh MacDiarmid, Penny Wheep, page 57. From the entry krang
  • It stood sideways in the road, as if standing aside in the amplitude of hospitality.1911, G. K. Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown. From the entry amplitude
  • Without a stick a man would climb down sideways from bink to bink.1902, Claude Ernest Benson ·, Crag and Hound in Lakeland, page 18. From the entry bink
  • Breakout Beyond is a twist on Atari's brick-breaker, keeping the same paddle-and-ball setup but having it all move sideways.2025 February 4, Eric Van Allen, “Breakout Beyond Puts a New Angle on Atari's Classic Brick-Breaker”, in IGN, archived from the original…. From the entry brick-breaker
  • With her bloomers still round her ankles Auntie Flip scampered sideways like a crab back to the living room.2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN. From the entry scuttle
  • Another shouted order and again the squares crabbed sideways.2015, Andrew Swanston, Waterloo: The Bravest Man, →ISBN. From the entry crab
  • Students on either side of B give B a karate chop by miming a sideways karate chop — without any touching.2014, Larry Swartz, Dramathemes: Classroom Literacy that Will Excite, Surprise, and Stimulate Learning, Markham, Ont.: Pembroke Publishers…. From the entry huh
  • Usher gives me a sideways bro hug.2010, Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 131. From the entry bro hug
  • The beehiver looked at him sideways and away again.2010, Cormac McCarthy, Outer Dark, page 81. From the entry beehiver
  • Carissa gave him a sideways glance and smiled ruefully.2009, Ethan Fowler, Mardene Fowler, Brushed Back: The Story of Trevor Bullock, page 94. From the entry carissa
  • A skittery, pinchy thing ran sideways in front of Roy.2009, Andy Rash, Are You a Horse?. From the entry pinchy

Meaning of sideways

  1. adjective Moving or directed toward one side.
  2. adjective Positioned sideways (with a side to the front).
  3. adjective Neither moving upward nor moving downward.

Full definition of sideways

Questions about sideways in a sentence

How do you use sideways in a sentence?
Sideways is used as an adjective and adverb. For example: “He gave the ball a sideways kick.”
What is a short sentence with sideways?
“He gave the ball a sideways kick.”
What does sideways mean?
Sideways means moving or directed toward one side.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sideways (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use sideways in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/sideways. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.