face /fās/ noun- The front part of the head, including forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and chin
- The outside form or appearance
- The front or surface of anything
- A flat surface of a solid geometrical figure, crystal, etc
- The striking surface of a golf club, etc
- The edge of a cutting tool, etc
- The front or upper surface, or that usually on view
- The exposed surface in a cliff, mine or quarry
- A principal cleavage-plane (geology)
- The dial of a watch, etc
- The printed surface of a playing card
- A style of letter or type (printing)
- Special appearance or facial expression
- Aspect, look, configuration
- Command of facial expression and bearing
- Boldness, effrontery
- A grimace
- Presence
- Anger or favour (Bible)
- (also baby face) a wrestler with a crowd-pleasing persona, opp to heel
transitive verb- To meet in the face or in front
- To stand opposite to or looking towards
- To be confronted with
- To confront
- To stand up to
- To brave
- To resist
- To put an additional face or surface on
- To cover in front
- To trim
intransitive verb- (often with on, to or towards) to direct or turn the face
- To take or have a direction
- To show a face, esp bold or false (obsolete)
ORIGIN: Fr face, from L faciēs form or face; perh from facere to make faced adjective - Having a face
- Having the outer surface dressed
- With the front covered with another material
faceˈless adjective - Having no face
- (of a person or people concerned in some action) with identity unknown or concealed
- Robot-like, esp of bureaucratic officials who allow no degree of personality to intrude on their decision-making processes
facˈer noun - A tool for smoothing or facing a surface
- A severe blow on the face (slang)
- An affront (informal)
- Anything that staggers one, a sudden problem or difficulty (informal)
- A person who faces something
- A person who puts on a false show (obsolete)
- A boldfaced person (obsolete)
facial /fāˈshl/ adjective - Of or relating to the face
- For the face
noun (informal)A beauty treatment to the face faˈcialist noun A beautician who specializes in performing facial treatments faˈcially adverb facˈing noun - A covering in front for decoration or protection
- (in pl) the collar, lapels and cuffs of a garment, esp in a contrasting colour
faceˈ-ache noun - Neuralgia in the nerves of the face
- An ugly or disagreeable person (slang; usu used as a mild or facetious insult)
Faceˈbook® noun A popular social networking website face card noun A playing-card bearing a face (king, queen or jack) faceˈ-centred adjective (of a crystal structure) with an atom in the centre of the face of each unit cell as well as at each vertex faceˈcloth or face flannel noun - A cloth used in washing the face
- (facecloth) a cloth laid over the face of a corpse or living person
face cream noun A cosmetic cream for the face faceˈ-fungˈus noun (informal) A moustache or beard faceˈ-guard or face mask noun A kind of mask to guard or protect the face faceˈ-hardˈen transitive verb To harden on the surface, to case-harden (lit and figurative) faceˈlift noun - A surgical operation to smooth and firm the tissues of the face
- A renovating process, esp one applied to the outside of a building
faceˈman or faceˈworker noun A miner who works at the coalface, as opposed to elsewhere in or at the mine face mask noun - A face-guard
- A face pack
faceˈ-off noun - (in ice-hockey, etc) the dropping of the puck between two players to start the game
- A confrontation (figurative)
- See also face off below
face pack noun A creamy cosmetic mixture put onto the face to cleanse and tone the complexion, and removed when dry face paint noun Paint used to decorate the face face painting noun faceˈplate noun - A disc on which a piece of wood, etc can be fixed for turning on a lathe
- A protective plate in front of a piece of machinery
- A flat transparent panel on the front of a protective helmet
- The screen or front of a cathode-ray tube
face powder noun A cosmetic powder for the face faceˈ-saver noun A course of action that saves one's face (see below) faceˈ-saving noun and adjective Saving one's face (see below) FaceˈTime® noun An application enabling video calls to be made over a wireless network transitive verb (usu without caps) to communicate with (a person) using this application face value noun - The value as stated on the face of a coin, share certificate, etc
- The apparent value of anything, which may not be the same as its real value
facial angle noun (in skull measurement) the angle formed by lines drawn from the middle of the forehead to the upper jaw above the incisor teeth and from the opening of the ear to the opening of the nose facial mapping noun A forensic technique for reconstructing the original face beneath a disguise face down - To shame or intimidate with stern looks
- To confront and make concede
face off - To start a game (of ice-hockey, etc) by a face-off
- To confront each other
- To adopt a mutually confrontational attitude
face out - To carry off by confident appearance
- To face down
face the music (informal) - To accept unpleasant consequences at their worst
- To brave a trying situation, hostile reception, etc
face to face - Opposite
- In actual presence, in person
- In confrontation (faceˈ-to-faceˈ adjective)
face up to - To face or stand up to
- To recognize (a fact or facts) and prepare to endure or act bravely
fly in the face of To oppose or defy get in (or out of) someone's face (informal) To begin (or stop) harassing or obstructing someone have two faces To be two-faced (see under two) in the face of In defiance of, despite in-your-face or in-yer-face (slang) - Aggressive
- Direct and provocative
look (someone) in the face To look at (someone) without shame or embarrassment lose face To lose prestige loss of face Humiliation, loss of dignity make or pull faces at To distort one's face into exaggerated expressions in order to amuse, annoy, etc off one's face (slang) - Drunk or high on drugs
- Crazy
on the face of it - On its own showing
- As is palpably plain
- At first glance
pull a long face To look dismal put a good or brave face on (it) To adopt a good-natured or stoical attitude in a troublesome situation put one's face on (informal) To apply cosmetics to the face right face!, left face! or right about face! Words of command, on which soldiers turn to the side specified run one's face (obs sl) To obtain things on credit by sheer impudence save one's face To avoid humiliation or appearance of climbing down set one's face against To oppose strenuously show one's face To appear to one's face In one's presence, openly |