face-off

American  

[feys-awf, -of] / ˈfeɪsˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

Ice Hockey.

1. the act of facing the puck, as at the start of a game or period.

2. an open confrontation.

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face-off British  

noun

1. ice hockey the method of starting a game, in which the referee drops the puck, etc between two opposing players

2. a confrontation

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verb

1. to start play by (a face-off)

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

I recently became part of a face-off between two opposite-running Coco bots on the small strip of sidewalk in front of Cafe Figaro.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Before the face-off drama, a twitchy, stone-faced Dubois glanced around at the stained-glass windows as the managers went toe-to-toe backing their men.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 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