Meaning of face in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /feɪs/

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  1. Verb

    face

    Definitions

    1. deal with (something unpleasant) head on

    Examples

    • « You must confront your problems »
    • « He faced the terrible consequences of his mistakes »

    Antonyms

  2. 2. oppose, as in hostility or a competition

    Examples

    • « You must confront your opponent »
    • « Jackson faced Smith in the boxing ring »
    • « The two enemies finally confronted each other »
  3. 3. be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point

    Examples

    • « be opposite to »
    • « The house looks north »
    • « My backyard look onto the pond »
    • « The building faces the park »

    Antonyms

  4. 4. be opposite

    Examples

    • « the facing page »
    • « the two sofas face each other »
  5. 5. turn so as to face

    Examples

    • « turn the face in a certain direction »
    • « Turn and face your partner now »
  6. 6. present somebody with something, usually to accuse or criticize

    Examples

    • « We confronted him with the evidence »
    • « He was faced with all the evidence and could no longer deny his actions »
    • « An enormous dilemma faces us »
  7. 7. turn so as to expose the face

    Examples

    • « face a playing card »
  8. 8. line the edge (of a garment) with a different material

    Examples

    • « face the lapels of the jacket »
  9. 9. cover the front or surface of

    Examples

    • « The building was faced with beautiful stones »

  10. Noun

    face

    Etymology

    Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin facies‘form, appearance, face’

    Definitions

    1. the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear

    Examples

    • « he washed his face »
    • « I wish I had seen the look on his face when he got the news »
  11. 2. the expression on a person's face

    Examples

    • « a sad expression »
    • « a look of triumph »
    • « an angry face »
  12. 3. the general outward appearance of something

    Examples

    • « the face of the city is changing »
  13. 4. the act of confronting bravely

    Examples

    • « he hated facing the facts »
    • « he excelled in the face of danger »
  14. 5. the striking or working surface of an implement
  15. 6. a part of a person that is used to refer to a person

    Examples

    • « he looked out at a roomful of faces »
    • « when he returned to work he met many new faces »
  16. 7. a surface forming part of the outside of an object

    Examples

    • « he examined all sides of the crystal »
    • « dew dripped from the face of the leaf »
  17. 8. the part of an animal corresponding to the human face
  18. 9. the side upon which the use of a thing depends (usually the most prominent surface of an object)

    Examples

    • « he dealt the cards face down »
  19. 10. a contorted facial expression

    Examples

    • « she made a grimace at the prospect »
  20. 11. a specific size and style of type within a type family
  21. 12. status in the eyes of others

    Examples

    • « he lost face »
  22. 13. impudent aggressiveness

    Examples

    • « I couldn't believe her boldness »
    • « he had the effrontery to question my honesty »
  23. 14. a vertical surface of a building or cliff