Lopsided describes something unbalanced or uneven, with one side much bigger, heavier, or more developed than the other. A snowman with a huge bottom snowball and a tiny head looks lopsided. A seesaw is lopsided when a big kid sits on one end and a small kid sits on the other.

The word can also describe situations where one side has a clear advantage. A basketball game might be a lopsided victory if one team wins 98 to 45. When a debate becomes lopsided, one person is making all the good points while the other struggles to respond. A trade can be lopsided if one person gets something valuable while the other gets very little in return.

You can also use lopsided to describe physical things that lean or tilt awkwardly. A lopsided smile curves up more on one side than the other. A lopsided painting hangs crooked on the wall. When you're building something, whether it's a tower of blocks or a science project, checking that it's not lopsided helps ensure it won't tip over. The word captures that off-kilter feeling when something that should be balanced or even simply isn't.