Facebook

Also face·book

[feys-book]

Trademark.

1. a brand name for a social media service and website, launched in 2004.

verb (used with object)

1. to communicate with (a person) or search for information about (a person) by using Facebook.

   My old girlfriend just facebooked me.

   His future employer Facebooked him and decided to withdraw the job offer.

2. to post on Facebook.

   I facebooked some photos of my cat.

   You should Facebook the event so more people will show up.

verb (used without object)

1. to use Facebook.

   Does your mom Facebook?

Facebook

/ ˈfeɪsˌbʊk /

noun

1. a popular social networking website

verb

1. (tr; sometimes not capital) to search for (a person's profile) on the Facebook website

Spelling Note

The official trademarked name of the social media platform and website is now styled in all capital letters “FACEBOOK,” though prior to 2020 the trademarked style was “facebook,” in all lowercase letters. Formal writing—as exemplified by most news and book publishers—treats such names as regular proper nouns, in this case “Facebook,” using an initial capital letter, but not all caps. However, when a trade name begins with a lowercase letter followed by an uppercase one, such as eBay or iPad, this spelling is retained, even at the beginning of a sentence.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Facebook¹

First recorded in 2000–05; from facebook, a college student directory with personal photos and basic information

Example Sentences

Her mother made emotional pleas on Facebook and the family sought video from their neighborhood.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One highlighted study, referred to internally as “Project Mercury,” allegedly showed that users who deactivated Facebook or Instagram for a week reported lower feelings of depression, loneliness and anxiety.

Read more on Salon

His face was on multiple TikToks, Instagram stories and Facebook updates.

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Reed said he thought it might have been an isolated prank — his next-door neighbors didn’t receive any such messages — until his sister showed him a neighborhood Facebook page.

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Check out the Moneyist private Facebook Group, where we look for answers to life’s thorniest money issues.

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