face-off
Americannoun
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the act of facing the puck, as at the start of a game or period.
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an open confrontation.
noun
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ice hockey the method of starting a game, in which the referee drops the puck, etc between two opposing players
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a confrontation
verb
Etymology
Origin of face-off
First recorded in 1895–1900; noun use of verb phrase face off
Explanation
A face-off is an in-person confrontation, like the face-off between rival ice hockey players or a face-off between presidential candidates on a debate stage. You can use the noun face-off whenever two people have a face-to-face showdown. You could even describe the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr as a face-off (a deadly one, as it turned out). Rival groups or teams confronting each other is also a face-off, like the big championship face-off at the end of basketball season. This sports context is the way the word was originally used, dating from at least 1886.
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.
Dubois repeatedly questioned Harper's achievements and credentials, while Harper shoved Dubois during a fiery media face-off earlier in the week.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
But even an athlete as fierce as Jones accepts she may need to improve her game face when it comes to her upcoming face-off with Criss.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
But the 30-year-old star will have to face-off against DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan, although Irish heartthrob Paul Mescal was not nominated for his role as Shakespeare in "Hamnet".
From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026
It was looking as though we wouldn’t get a badly needed, monthslong, toe-to-toe face-off about all that’s right and wrong in the sprawling metropolis of high hopes and low expectations.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2026
The face-off lasted for seconds that stretched into eternity, and then, with the scrabbling of claws, the dragon fled to the darkness at the rear of the barn.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
