face
noun /feɪs/
/feɪs/
Idioms 
enlarge imagethe front part of the head, where the eyes, nose and mouth are- a pretty/pale/round face
- He buried his face in his hands.
- to hide/cover your face
- on somebody's face You should have seen the look on her face when I told her!
- The expression on his face never changed.
- in the face She was red in the face with embarrassment.
- At that time, her face was on the covers of all the magazines.
Extra ExamplesTopics Bodya1- A face peered around the door at him.
- a craggy face with deep-set eyes and bushy brows
- The look on his face was priceless.
- A look of disgust flickered across his face.
- From the stage, he looked down at a sea of faces.
- He tilted her face up to his.
- His eyes were sunken in his gaunt face.
- The ball hit him in the face.
- She slapped him in the face.
- I like to feel the wind in my face.
- She turned her face away.
- The robber made no attempt to hide his face.
- He covered his face with his hands.
- Go and wash your face.
- What's that mark on your face?
- She put some powder on her face.
- She has a beautiful, oval face.
- She had a plump, pretty face.
- A tall man with a handsome face appeared.
- The child drew a face with two round eyes and a mouth.
- I lay face up on the grass, staring at the sky.
- She had a big smile on her face.
- Her face was flushed after her run.
- A wry smile crossed his face.
- Her short hair suited her elfin face.
- Jack's face flushed with embarrassment.
- Her face and neck looked red.
- She looked at her face in the mirror.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- front
- rear
- North
- …
- face down
- face downwards/downward
- face up
- …
- an expression that is shown on somebody’s face
- a smiling/happy/sad face
- Her face lit up (= showed happiness) when she spoke of the past.
- His face fell (= showed disappointment, sadness, etc.) when he read the headlines.
- I could tell by his face it hadn't gone well.
- Sue's face was a picture (= she looked very surprised, angry, etc.) as she listened to her husband's speech.
Vocabulary Building Expressions on your faceExpressions on your face- To beam is to have a big happy smile on your face.
- To frown is to make a serious, angry or worried expression by bringing your eyebrows closer together so that lines appear on your forehead.
- To glare or glower is to look in an angry, aggressive way.
- To grimace is to make an ugly expression with your face to show pain, disgust, etc.
- To scowl is to look at someone in an angry or annoyed way.
- To smirk is to smile in a silly or unpleasant way that shows that you are pleased with yourself, know something that other people do not know, etc.
- To sneer is to show that you have no respect for someone by turning your upper lip upwards.
- She looked up with a puzzled frown.
- He gave me an icy glare.
- a grimace of pain
Extra Examples- His face looked a little confused.
- He just stood there with a confused face.
- The father's face softened as he hugged his little boy.
- Her little face lit up when I gave her the present.
- Her face darkened with anger.
- Her face broke into a wide smile.
- Her face brightened when she saw me.
- A girl with a friendly face opened the door.
- Her face paled with fright.
- Her face suddenly grew serious.
- His face cleared and she smiled back.
- His face remained impassive, so strong was his self-control.
- Her face was set and hard.
- His face set in grim lines.
- He searched her face for some clue as to what she meant.
- You could read her confusion in her face.
- She looked at the honest, open face of her husband.
- Her face betrayed no emotion at all.
- She drew a little yellow smiley face.
- Her face contorted in pain.
- Her face crumpled and she started crying.
- the sight of Sarah's smiling face beaming up at him
- I laughed at his funny face.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- animated
- cheerful
- friendly
- …
- make
- pull
- search
- …
- look
- seem
- grow
- …
- on somebody’s face
- a face like thunder
- keep a straight face
- an/the expression on somebody’s face
- …
- (in compounds) used to refer to a person of the type mentioned
- She looked around for a familiar face.
- He's a fresh face (= somebody new) at the company.
- It's nice to see some new faces here this evening.
- The movie is full of famous faces.
- a well-known face on our television screens
- I'm tired of seeing the same old faces every time we go out!
Extra Examples- a restaurant where you often see famous faces
- I'm so bored with seeing the same old faces!
- It's nice to see a friendly face.
- I recognize a few faces here.
- We're bringing in a lot of fresh faces.
- At last—here's a face I know!
- They want recognizable faces to promote their products.
- It's a bit disconcerting to wake up and see a strange face.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- familiar
- old
- different
- …
- see
- (in adjectives) having the type of face or expression mentioned
- pale-faced
- a freckle-faced boy
- grim-faced
- a sad-faced woman
More Like This Compound adjectives for physical characteristicsCompound adjectives for physical characteristics- -beaked
- -bellied
- -billed
- -blooded
- -bodied
- -cheeked
- -chested
- -eared
- -eyed
- -faced
- -fingered
- -footed
- -haired
- -handed
- -headed
- -hearted
- -hipped
- -lidded
- -limbed
- -mouthed
- -necked
- -nosed
- -skinned
- -tailed
- -throated
- -toothed
- a side or surface of something
- the north face of the mountain
- the dark face of the moon
- A steep path zigzags down the cliff face.
- We could see tiny figures climbing the rock face.
- Ivy covered the front face of the house.
- A banner hung across the face of the building.
- How many faces does a cube have?
Extra Examples- The birds build their nests in the rock face.
- We slowly climbed the steep face of the crag.
- His shot went across the face of the goal.
- words chiselled into the face of a stone block
- Their corporate logo was emblazoned across the face of a skyscraper.
- the picture on the rear face of the box
- They made their way slowly down the mountain face.
- an octagonal vase with molded decorations on each face
- a polyhedron with twelve faces
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- front
- rear
- North
- …
- face down
- face downwards/downward
- face up
- …
- the front part of a clock or watch
enlarge image- a dial like the face of a clock
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- front
- rear
- North
- …
- face down
- face downwards/downward
- face up
- …
- the particular character of something
- face of something the changing face of Britain
- This discovery changed the whole face of science.
- with a… face bureaucracy with a human face
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- human
- acceptable
- unacceptable
- …
- face of something a particular aspect of something
- Social deprivation is the unacceptable face of capitalism.
- He has become the public face of the company.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- human
- acceptable
- unacceptable
- …
see also in-your-face, typeface, volte-face
front of head
expression
person
-faced
side/surface
front of clock
character/aspect
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, based on Latin facies ‘form, appearance, face’.
Idioms
be staring somebody in the face
- used to describe something that you have failed to see, even though it was obvious and should have been easy to see
- The answer was staring us in the face but we never saw it until it was too late.
- to be certain to happen
- Defeat was staring them in the face.
be staring something in the face
- to be unable to avoid something
- They were staring defeat in the face.
be written all over somebody’s face
- (of a feeling) to be very obvious to other people from the expression on somebody’s face
- Guilt was written all over his face.
blow up in somebody’s face
- if a plan, etc. blows up in your face, it goes badly wrong in a way that causes you damage or makes you feel embarrassed
cut off your nose to spite your face
- (informal) to do something when you are angry that is meant to harm somebody else but that also harms you
disappear/vanish off the face of the earth
- to disappear completely
- Keep looking—they can't just have vanished off the face of the earth.
do something till you are blue in the face
- (informal) to try to do something as hard and as long as you possibly can but without success
- You can argue till you're blue in the face, but you won't change my mind.
somebody’s face fits/doesn’t fit
- (British English) used to say that somebody will/will not get a particular job or position because they have/do not have the appearance, personality, etc. that the employer wants, even when this should not be important
- If your face fits, you'll get the job.
- It doesn't matter how well qualified you are; if your face doesn't fit, you don't stand a chance.
somebody’s face is like thunder | somebody has a face like thunder
- somebody looks very angry
- Mr Hibbs came in with a face like thunder.
face to face (with somebody)
- close to and looking at somebody
- The two have never met face to face before.
- The room fell silent as she came face to face with the man who had tried to kill her.
face to face with something
- in a situation where you have to accept that something is true and deal with it
- She was at an early age brought face to face with the horrors of war.
face up/down
- (of a person) with your face and stomach facing upwards/downwards
- She lay face down on the bed.
- with the front part or surface facing upwards/downwards
- Place the card face up on the pile.
- She placed the cards face down on the table.
fall flat on your face
- to fall so that you are lying on your front
- to fail completely, usually in an embarrassing way
- His next television venture fell flat on its face.
feed your face
- (informal, usually disapproving) to eat a lot of food or too much food
fly in the face of something
- to oppose or be the opposite of something that is usual or expected
- Such a proposal is flying in the face of common sense.
have the face to do something
- (British English, informal) to do something that other people think is rude or shows a lack of respect, without feeling embarrassed or ashamed
- I don't know how you have the face to complain after everything they've done for you!
have/be left with egg on/all over your face
- (informal) to be made to look stupid
- They were left with egg on their faces when only ten people showed up.
in somebody’s face
- (informal) annoying somebody by criticizing them or telling them what to do all the time
- Why are you always in my face?
in the face of something
- despite problems, difficulties, etc.
- She showed great courage in the face of danger.
- The campaign continued in the face of great opposition.
- as a result of something
- He was unable to deny the charges in the face of new evidence.
laugh in somebody’s face
- to show in a very obvious way that you have no respect for somebody
laugh on the other side of your face
- (British English, informal) to be forced to change from feeling pleased or satisfied to feeling disappointed or annoyed
- He’ll be laughing on the other side of his face when he reads my letter.
(pull, wear, etc.) a long face
- (to have) an unhappy or disappointed expression
- He took one look at her long face and said ‘What’s wrong?’
- The news for the company isn't good, judging from the long faces in the boardroom.
look somebody in the eye(s)/face
- (usually used in negative sentences and questions) to look straight at somebody without feeling embarrassed or ashamed
- Can you look me in the eye and tell me you're not lying?
- She looked her father straight in the eye and answered his question truthfully.
- I'll never be able to look her in the face again!
lose face
- to be less respected or look stupid because of something you have done
- Many leaders don't want to lose face by admitting failures.
loss of face
- the state of being less respected by other people or looking stupid because of something you have done
- Failure to pass the exams means a massive loss of face for the students and their parents.
not just a pretty face
- (humorous) used to emphasize that you have particular skills or qualities
- ‘I didn't know you could play the piano.’ ‘I'm not just a pretty face, you know!’
on the face of it
- used to say that something seems to be good, true, etc. but that this opinion may need to be changed when you know more about it
- On the face of it, it seems like a great deal.
- What may, on the face of it, seem obvious often turns out to be far more complicated.
(as) plain as a pikestaff | (as) plain as day | (as) plain as the nose on your face
- very obvious
pull/make faces/a face (at somebody)
- to produce an expression on your face to show that you do not like somebody/something or in order to make somebody laugh
- What are you pulling a face at now?
- Do you think it’s funny to make faces behind my back?
Extra ExamplesTopics Appearancec2- She made a disgusted face at that and walked away.
- She made a funny face and gave a snorting sort of laugh.
put your face on
- (informal) to put on make-up
put on a brave face | put a brave face on something
- to pretend that you feel confident and happy when you do not
- I had to put on a brave face and try to show him that I wasn’t worried.
- She put a brave face on her illness.
save (somebody’s) face
- to avoid or help somebody avoid being embarrassed
- She was fired, but she saved face by telling everyone she'd resigned.
set your face against somebody/something
- (especially British English) to be determined to oppose somebody/something
- Her father had set his face against the marriage.
show your face
- to appear among your friends or in public
- She stayed at home, afraid to show her face.
shut/slam the door in somebody’s face
- to shut a door hard when somebody is trying to come in
- to refuse to talk to somebody or meet them, in a rude way
shut your mouth/face!
- (slang) a rude way of telling somebody to be quiet or stop talking
a slap in the face
- an action that seems to be intended as a deliberate way of offending and showing lack of respect for somebody
- The closure of the school is a slap in the face to the local community.
a straight face
- if you keep a straight face, you do not laugh or smile, although you find something funny see also straight-faced
to somebody’s face
- if you say something to somebody’s face, you say it to them directly rather than to other people
- He’s a liar, and I’ve told him so to his face many times.
what’s his/her face
- (informal) used to refer to a person whose name you cannot remember
- Are you still working for what's her face?
wipe somebody/something off the face of the earth | wipe something off the map
- to destroy or remove somebody/something completely