face down
Britishverb
-
With the upper surface put down, as in Please put these papers face down . This usage appears to come from cardplaying. [First half of 1600s] The antonym, “with the upper surface uppermost,” is face up .
-
Overcome, intimidate, or browbeat someone in a bold confrontation. This verbal expression dates from the 16th century. Shakespeare used it in The Comedy of Errors (3:1): “Here's a villain that would face me down.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It requires the government to face down the monopoly that is State Grid, which controls more than 90% of the country’s electricity transmission and distribution.”
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
"They came across Hajra floating face down," he said.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
A mock drowning in the pool, floating face down in the water as his mother does a butterfly stroke back and forth right next to him.
From Salon • Feb. 17, 2026
Fiala, who was laying face down on the ice, was able to prop himself on his elbows but did not move his lower body before being placed on a stretcher and taken to a hospital.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026
He staggered dizzily to his office couch and lay face down, his forehead against the cool black leather.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
