Military. a turn of 180° from the position of attention.
a complete, sudden change in position, direction, principle, attitude, etc..
They've done an about-face in their foreign policy.
to execute an about face.
to turn in the opposite direction.
to switch to an opposite opinion.
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
An about-face is a turn in the opposite direction. If you're halfway to school when you realize you forgot your lunch, you may have enough time to make an about-face, run home, and grab it. A literal about-face, when you pivot your body to face 180 degrees away from where you started, has a military origin. About-face is a drill command that's given to a group of marching soldiers, who must turn in a smooth, synchronized way to face the opposite direction. Figuratively, an about-face can be an abrupt change of belief, opinion, or practice — like your friend whose diet leans heavily on fast-food hamburgers until he does an about-face and becomes a vegetarian.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Especially given the about face on the prior China restrictions, we are optimistic that quarterly China sales could stabilize sooner rather than later,” Chin said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 14, 2025
Tells us, @_timhernandez, what was the moment you realized you needed an about face?
From Washington Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
Treating people who use opioids as deserving of the same right to healthcare as any other American demands an about face to the way methadone is delivered.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2023
"One of the things we had was extra rules about face coverings for Covid - now we're going back to standard rules," he said.
From BBC ● May 16, 2023
She glanced furiously about, face flushing scarlet as she applied “thick clouds” to her appearance.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Lewis, making progress sometimes requires an about-face to get back on the right road.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Kelly has done an even starker about-face on one of her favorite topics these days: trans issues, on which she used to be passably sympathetic.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended the Trump administration's recent about-face to temporarily extend a sanctions waiver that allowed the sale of Russian oil already at sea.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
The about-face in oil prices quickly helped dampen a stock-market rally.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 10, 2026
More than a little patience will be needed when explaining the complete about-face.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
But it wasn’t long before Musk abruptly about-faced and effectively banned the student from X, accusing Sweeney of endangering his personal safety.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
"They know who it is?" asked Slaight, who had about-faced and was marching next to the guy who had whispered the news.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2023
But then Washington about-faced, easing banking restrictions for six months to allow earthquake relief to flow freely to Syria.
From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2023
But the Supreme Court about-faced, ruling 5-4 in the 1871 cases Knox v.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2020
The men quit, gestured obscenely, about-faced, swayed leisurely back to their van, started it up, and drove out of the gorge.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
