Face | Mean of face in English Dictionary

/ˈfeɪs/

• Noun
• the front part of the head that has the eyes, nose, and mouth on it
1. He has a round face.
2. He punched me (right) in the face.
3. His face is familiar but I can't remember his name.
4. I'll never forget the look on her face.
5. She slapped him in the face. = She slapped his face.
6. He fell flat on his face.
7. a bearded/freckled/tanned face
8. a fresh/youthful face
9. face cream
10. face powder
11. Her face lit up [=she looked pleased and happy] when she saw him.
12. Her face fell [=she looked unhappy] when I told her the bad news.
13. I don't know how he can show his face around here. [=how he can stand being seen here]
14. Why the long face? [=why do you look so unhappy?]
15. He was wearing a silly grin/smile on his face. [=he was grinning/smiling in a silly way]
16. She angrily told him to wipe that smile off his face. [=to stop smiling]
17. Her guilt was written all over her face. [=the expression on her face showed her guilt very clearly]
18. The answer to the problem was staring me in the face all along. [=the answer was obvious but I did not see it]
• a facial expression
1. a happy/sad face
2. a friendly/smiling face
3. She tried to put on a brave face [=she tried to appear brave or calm] despite the pain of the injury.
4. It was hard to keep a straight face. [=it was hard not to laugh]
5. You should have seen his face when we shouted “Surprise!” [=he had a shocked, surprised, etc., look on his face]
• the way something appears when it is first seen or thought about
1. On the face of it, her proposal seems ridiculous. [=when you first hear about her proposal it seems ridiculous, although it may not be ridiculous when you learn more about it]
2. Her proposal seems ridiculous on its face.

• the way something is seen or thought of by people
1. If she wins the election it will change the face of American politics.
2. She can put a positive face on the worst situations.
3. He was disappointed by the results of the election, but tried to put the best face on the situation by saying he had come closer to winning than people expected.
• a front or outer surface of something
1. the face of a cliff = a cliff face
2. the face of a building
3. the face of a golf club
4. a species that has vanished from the face of the earth [=a species that is no longer found anywhere in the world]
5. If you ask me, he's the biggest fool on the face of the earth. [=in the world]
• a surface or side that is marked or prepared in some way
1. the face of a document
• a side of a coin
1. Which face will the coin land on—heads or tails?
• the part of a clock or watch that shows the time
1. a clock face
• any one of the flat surfaces of a solid shape
1. A cube is a solid with six square faces.
• very close to something dangerous, difficult, etc.
1. The actors were face to face with real flames.
2. She came face to face with death. [=she nearly died]
3. When she visited the school she was brought face to face with the problems encountered by teachers every day.
• to go away and stop bothering someone
1. Get out of my face!
2. Hey, get out of your sister's face and go play somewhere else!
• in a direct way that shows anger or disrespect for someone
1. She laughed in his face.
2. He slammed the door in my face.
• while in a situation in which you have to deal with (something or someone that is dangerous, difficult, etc.)
1. Their defeat seemed certain in the face of such a powerful opponent.
2. She showed great courage in the face of danger. [=she showed great courage when she was faced with danger]
3. She succeeded in the face of [=despite] great difficulties.
• to cause other people to have less respect for you
1. She was afraid that she would lose face if she admitted her mistake.
• to make a facial expression that shows dislike or disgust
1. He made a face when I mentioned her name.
• to make a silly or amusing facial expression
1. She tried to get me to laugh by making a face when I looked at her.
2. He was entertaining the children by making (funny) faces.
• to avoid having other people lose respect for you
1. He tried to save face by working overtime.
• directly to someone
1. If you have something to say about me, you should say it to my face. [=say it directly to me rather than to someone else]
• Verb
• to stand or sit with your face and body turned toward (something or someone)
1. The teacher faced the class.
2. She turned around to face the window.
3. He sat facing the wall.
4. Turn and face to the east.
• to have the front part toward (something)
1. The house faces the park.
2. The living room faces the afternoon sun.
3. My shoe was lying in the corner with its sole facing upward.
4. The flower opens facing skyward.
• to be on the page that is opposite to (another page)
1. Look at the illustration that faces page 132. = Look at the illustration facing page 132.
2. Look at the illustration on the facing page.
• to deal with (something bad or unpleasant) in a direct way
1. Only by facing your problems can you hope to overcome them.
2. You must stand and face the danger.
3. He'll have to face the consequences of his decision.
• to admit that (something) is true or real
1. It was time to face the truth.
2. We have to face the possibility that the economy will get worse before it gets better.
3. We have to face reality.
• to have (something bad or unpleasant) as a problem or possibility
1. This is not the first time she has faced adversity.
2. Because of the drought, thousands of people are now facing starvation.
3. He finds himself facing criminal charges for his role in the conspiracy.
4. She faced a difficult choice. [=she had to make a difficult choice]
• to be a problem for (someone)
1. There were many important questions facing them.
2. We can't ignore the problems that face us.
• to force (someone) to see and deal with something in a direct way
1. He couldn't deny his involvement when the police faced [=confronted] him with the evidence.
2. He was faced with the evidence.
3. We are faced with two unpleasant options.
4. We can't ignore the problems that we are faced with.
• to meet with (someone) despite shame, fear, or embarrassment
1. I don't know if I can face him again after treating him so badly.
• to meet (someone) in a competition
1. The team has to face a tough opponent in its next game.
2. It was the first time that these two fighters had faced each other in the ring.
3. The pitcher struck out the first three batters he faced.
• to cover the front or the surface of (something)
1. They faced the building with marble.
2. a chimney faced with red brick
3. a brick-faced chimney
• to admit that something is true
1. The time has come to face the fact that the government's policies aren't working.
2. The time has come to face the facts and admit that the government's policies aren't working.
3. Let's face facts—our plan isn't working.
• to be involved or become involved in a conflict, dispute, or competition
1. The protesters were facing off with/against the police.
2. They faced off in a nationally televised debate.
3. two teams that faced off in the play-offs last year
• to accept and deal with the unpleasant result of something you have said or done
1. He knows that he'll be criticized for making a bad decision, and he's ready to face the music.