face

FAYS/feɪs/

Pluralfaces

Verbfaces, facing, faced

36 meanings of face

Practice

1
part of headnouncountable
The front part of a person's or animal's head, where the eyes, nose, and mouth are.
She had paint all over her face after the party.
The cat rubbed its face against my leg.
UsageA smile is on your face. Someone hits you in the face.
Similarvisage, countenance, mug, physiognomy, kisser
2
confrontverbtransitive
To have something hard or important coming up that you will have to deal with.
Like seeing a steep hill ahead that you know you'll have to climb.
We face a big test tomorrow morning.
The town faces a long, cold winter ahead.
UsageWe face a problem, or we are faced with it.
Similarconfront, encounter, risk
Oppositeavoid, escape
Note
3
confrontverbtransitive
To deal with a hard situation or person instead of avoiding it.
Like turning around to look at something scary instead of running from it.
You need to face your fears and ask for help.
She finally faced the truth about her spending.
UsageWe say face the facts and face up to a problem.
Similarconfront, accept, tackle, address, acknowledge
Oppositeavoid, evade, ignore, deny
Note
4
play againstverbtransitive
To play or fight against someone as your opponent.
We face the best team in the league tonight.
She will face last year's winner in the final.
UsageIn British English, a team name can take a plural verb: Real Madrid face Juventus.
Similarmeet, play, fight, oppose
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5
front towardverbtransitive
To be turned toward something, or to turn your body so that you look toward it.
The windows face the garden.
Our cabin faces the lake.
UsageSay the windows face the garden, or the house faces south.
Similaroverlook, front
Note
6
nounfiguratively
The direct presence of someone or something right in front of you.
She stayed calm in the face of the angry crowd.
They pressed forward, right in the face of the storm.
UsageWe say in the face of danger, and fly in the face of good advice.
Note
7
nouncountable
Any surface of something, especially the front or outside, like the steep side of a cliff.
The climbers reached the steep rock face by noon.
Birds build their nests on the face of the cliff.
UsageWe say rock face, cliff face, and off the face of the earth.
Similarsurface, side, front, facade
Note
8
look of feelingnouncountable
A look on someone's face that shows a feeling, sometimes made on purpose to show dislike or make fun.
Like a sign that shows what someone is feeling inside.
He had a sad face all morning.
I knew from his worried face that something was wrong.
UsageWe say keep a straight face when we try not to laugh.
Similarexpression, look, grimace
9
nounfigurativelycountable
A person, especially one you see or recognize.
A new face showed up at school today.
He is a well-known face around the neighborhood.
UsageWe say a familiar face, a new face, and show your face.
Similarperson, figure
Note
10
public imagenounfigurativelycountable
The way a person or group appears to the public.
He is the public face of the charity.
The new logo gave the brand a fresh face.
UsageWe say someone is the face of a company.
Similarreputation, image
Note

Less common meanings

11
clock dialnouncountable
The flat front part of a clock or watch that shows the numbers and hands.
The big clock face on the tower is easy to read from far away.
He wiped the dust off the watch face.
Similardial
12
reputationnounfigurativelyuncountable
The respect and good name a person has with other people.
Like a good name you keep clean so people still respect you.
He didn't want to lose face in front of his coworkers.
Saying sorry first helped both sides save face.
UsageWe say save face and lose face, with no "a" or "the".
Similarprestige, standing, dignity, status, reputation
Note
13
printed valuenouncolloquialuncountable
The value printed on money, a ticket, or a bond, not counting interest.
Like the price printed on a tag, before any sale discount.
He sold the ticket for face, not a penny more.
I got the tickets at face.
UsageWe say tickets sold at face, meaning at face value.
Similarpar
Note
14
nouncountable
One of the flat sides of a solid shape, like a side of a cube.
Like one of the flat, smooth sides of a box.
A cube has six flat faces of equal size.
Each face of a die has a different number of dots.
Similarfacet, surface
Note
15
cover frontverbtransitive
To cover the front of something with a different material for looks or protection.
Like gluing pretty paper over a plain box to make it look nice.
Workers will face the wall with smooth white tiles.
They faced the old shed with cedar boards.
UsageWe say face a wall with tiles, or a house faced with stone.
Similarclad, cover, veneer, surface
Note
16
aspectnounfigurativelycountable
One part or side of someone's or something's character.
The scandal showed the ugly face of local politics.
War shows the cruel face of human nature.
UsageOften with words like ugly or cruel: the ugly face of war.
Similarside, aspect, facet, dimension
Note
17
nounslangcountable
All the makeup someone puts on, taken together as one look.
Like a fresh coat of paint people put on before going out.
She spent an hour putting on her face before the wedding.
He won't leave the house until his face is done.
UsagePeople say put my face on for doing makeup.
Similarmakeup
18
verbtransitive
To turn something so its front points a certain way.
Face the chair toward the window.
He faced all the boxes the same way on the shelf.
Similarturn, flip
Note
19
golf clubnouncountable
The flat part of a bat or club that hits the ball.
Like the flat metal head of a hammer that strikes a nail.
Hit the ball with the flat face of the club for a clean shot.
She cleaned the dirt off the face before her next swing.
20
nervenounfigurativelyuncountable
Bold or rude confidence, or nerve.
UsageWe say someone had the face to ask.
Similarnerve, audacity, gall, cheek, effrontery
Note
21
nouncountable
The open wall of rock where miners are digging, or the end of a tunnel being dug.
The miners worked at the face for ten hours.
Water began to drip from the face at the end of the new tunnel.
Note
22
wrestling heronounslangfigurativelycountable
In professional wrestling, a wrestler who plays the good guy that the crowd is meant to cheer for.
The crowd went wild when the face won the belt.
Every good match needs a face for the fans to cheer.
Similarhero
Oppositeheel
Note
23
type stylenouncountable
A style of lettering used in printing and on screens.
Like a family of letters that all wear the same style of clothes.
The printer chose a bold face for the chapter titles.
This face has elegant curves that suit a poetry book.
Similartypeface, font
Note
24
mouthnounslangcountable
The mouth, in casual or rude speech.
Shut your face and let me finish talking!
He stuffed his face with cake at the party.
UsagePeople say stuff your face for eating a lot. Shut your face is rude.
Similarmouth, gob, trap, maw, chops
25
noun
The full, forward push of something powerful.
Similarbrunt, force, thrust, impact, weight
26
noun
A look or attitude that shows favor or anger toward someone.
27
nouncolloquial
A person everyone knows in a scene, like music or fashion.
28
noun
In coats of arms, a lion's head seen from the front, with no neck showing.
29
noun
In games, the character you play, not the helpers who take hits for you.
30
noun
How wide a pulley is, or how long a gear tooth is.
31
verb
To move shop goods forward on a shelf with the labels facing out.
32
verb
In cricket, to be the batter the ball is bowled to.
33
verbobsolete
To be rude to someone and push them around.
Face not mee: thou haſt brau'd manie men, braue not me; I will neither bee fac'd nor brau'd.
c. 1590, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”
34
verb
To put a layer of cloth along the inside of an edge, often a different cloth.
35
verb
To put the best goods on top to trick buyers about the rest.
36
verb
To make the flat surface of a piece of metal or stone smooth.

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

It came into English from Old French "face", which came from Latin "faciēs", meaning form or appearance.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

English face was borrowed from Old French face. en.wiktionary.org
Old French face derives ultimately from Latin faciēs, through Late Latin facia. en.wiktionary.org
Latin faciēs means form or appearance. en.wiktionary.org