DictionaryAI

face

FAYS/feɪs/

Pluralfaces

Verbfaces, facing, faced

36 meanings of face

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  1. 1
    part of headnouncountable
    The front part of the head of a human or other animal, where the eyes, nose, and mouth are found, along with the surrounding area.

    A long scar ran across the left side of his face.

    The swelling on the patient's face made him hard to recognize.

    UsageA smile or paint is on your face; you are hit or slapped in the face.

    Similarvisage, countenance, mug, physiognomy, kisser

  2. 2
    confrontverbtransitive
    To be presented or confronted with something, or to have it in prospect.

    Graduates today face a fiercely competitive job market.

    The company faces heavy fines if it misses the deadline.

    UsageOften used in the passive with with: be faced with a choice, be faced with heavy fines.

    Similarconfront, encounter, risk

    Oppositeavoid, escape

    Note

    Here the subject does not choose anything: an uncertain future or a long desert journey simply lies ahead. The progressive shows this well, since we are facing an uncertain future reports a prospect, not a resolve. That is the line between this sense and facing up to something, which takes an act of will.

  3. 3
    confrontverbtransitive
    To deal with a difficult situation or person, or to accept facts and reality even when they are unwelcome.

    After months of denial, he had to face the consequences of his choices.

    Communities along the coast must face the reality of rising sea levels.

    UsageSet phrases: face the facts, face the music (accept the consequences), and face up to a problem.

    Similarconfront, accept, tackle, address, acknowledge

    Oppositeavoid, evade, ignore, deny

    Note

    Facing as an act of will. Dryden's king in The Spanish Fryar (1681) vows "I'll face / This tempest, and deserve the name of king". With abstract objects such as facts or reality, it means accepting them. Joseph Stiglitz in 2013 urges the international community to face "the reality" of an unfair global tax regime.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

  4. 4
    play againstverbtransitive
    To have someone as an opponent in a contest, game, or fight.

    The challenger faces a former world champion next month.

    Teams that face each other twice a season tend to build real rivalries.

    UsageBritish sports writing often uses a plural verb after a team name (Real Madrid face Juventus); American English prefers faces.

    Similarmeet, play, fight, oppose

    Note

    Sports reporting's verb for fixtures: Real Madrid face Juventus in the quarter-finals, and Capello's men face Montenegro in a final qualifier.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Real Madrid and Juventus have met in the quarter-finals. uefa.com
    • Fabio Capello managed England when they faced Montenegro. uefa.com
    • The Montenegro fixture was England's final qualifier for Euro 2012. es.uefa.com
  5. 5
    front towardverbtransitive
    To have one's face or front toward someone or something, or to turn so as to do so.

    The two buildings face each other across the narrow square.

    Her office faces the river, giving her a view of the passing boats.

    UsageTakes the thing directly (face the river, face each other) or a direction (face south, face away).

    Similaroverlook, front

    Note

    For things that point rather than turn: a chair, a house, a stretch of coast. John Milton's History of Britain (1670) speaks of "that part of Britain which faces Ireland". Nothing moves here, since the verb describes a fixed orientation.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • John Milton's History of Britain was first published in 1670. christs.cam.ac.uk
    • Milton's History of Britain contains the quoted words describing Britain's orientation toward Ireland. tianmu.org
  6. 6
    nounfiguratively
    The direct presence or immediate sight of someone or something; being set squarely before it.

    The committee held its position in the face of fierce opposition.

    Her decision to quit her secure job flew in the face of conventional wisdom.

    UsageMostly in set phrases: in the face of danger or opposition, and fly in the face of advice or evidence.

    Note

    Older prose could still let it stand on its own. In The Bat (1926), the novel version of Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood's play, the thief "never showed himself to the face of the day".

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The Bat's novelization was first published in 1926. en.wikipedia.org
    • The novel adapts a play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood. gutenberg.org
    • The quoted words occur in the narrator's description of the criminal called the Bat. gutenberg.org
  7. 7
    nouncountable
    A surface of something, especially its front or outer side, such as the marked side of a coin or playing card or the steep side of a cliff.

    The north face of the cliff stays in shadow for most of the day.

    Workers cleaned the towering glass face of the skyscraper.

    UsageCommon compounds: rock face, cliff face, a mountain's north face; and the phrase off the face of the earth.

    Similarsurface, side, front, facade

    Note

    Mountaineers name a mountain's sides by compass point, as in the north face. The King James Bible of 1611 already spreads it across a landscape, with a mist that "watered the whole face of the ground".

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  8. 8
    look of feelingnouncountable
    An expression on someone's face showing a feeling or reaction, including one made on purpose to show dislike or mockery.

    He kept a straight face all through the joke.

    Her worried face told me something was wrong.

    UsageSet phrases: keep a straight face (not laugh), a long face (look sad), put on a brave face.

    Similarexpression, look, grimace

  9. 9
    nounfigurativelycountable
    A person, regarded as present or recognizable; an individual.

    The agency is always looking for fresh faces to put in its ads.

    A familiar face greeted us at the reception desk.

    UsageCommon in a familiar face, a new face, and show your face, frequently as a warning: don't show your face here again.

    Similarperson, figure

    Note

    A part standing for the whole person. Here a face is simply anyone who turns up, famous or not.

  10. 10
    public imagenounfigurativelycountable
    The outward appearance or public image that someone or something presents.

    As spokesperson, she was the public face of the organization for a decade.

    The renovation gave the old hotel a sleeker, more modern face.

    UsageFrequently the public face of an organization or the face of a campaign.

    Similarreputation, image

    Note

    The face of X makes one person stand for a whole company or cause: a chairman is the face of his firm, and Rock Hudson became "the face of Aids". The other use is show a bold face, meaning an appearance put on over what one actually feels. In both, the face is something presented to onlookers.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of face apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

"Face" came through Middle English from Old French "face", from Late Latin "facia" and ultimately Latin "faciēs" ("form, appearance"). It is a doublet of "facies" and replaced older native English words such as Old English "anwlite" and "ansīen"; in the sense of reputation it was influenced by Chinese words meaning the front of the head and one's public image.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

  • English face derives through Middle English and Old French face from Late Latin facia and Latin faciēs, meaning form or appearance. en.wiktionary.org
  • Face and facies are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
  • Face displaced native English words including Old English anwlite and ansīen and their descendants. en.wiktionary.org
  • The reputation sense of English face was influenced by Chinese. en.wikipedia.org
  • The relevant Chinese vocabulary has both literal facial meanings and figurative meanings relating to reputation or public image. en.wiktionary.org