face time

American  

[feys-tahym] / ˈfeɪsˌtaɪm /

Or facetime

noun

Informal.

1. time spent speaking or meeting with one or more people face to face, in contrast to phone conversations or other means of communication.

   Is he available for a couple of hours of face time?

2. time spent appearing on television, in movies, or in other visual media.

   The candidates had some good face time with a national audience.

3. the amount of time an employee spends in the office or other workplace.

   If you work from home, make sure you put in face time once in a while.

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face time British  

noun

1. the time spent dealing with someone else face to face, esp in a place of work

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Etymology

Origin of face time

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

face time

A hybrid scheduled offers the best of both worlds — the flexibility needed for personal responsibilities, combined with the face time necessary for social connections and career growth, the research found.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026

And these treks often end up being about more than just face time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

For Sir Keir Starmer, both on and off camera, this all amounts to invaluable face time with Trump, even sharing a lift on Air Force One, burnishing a relationship as solid as it is improbable.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2025

They were there in my darkest hours — when my parents died, they let me win my next show so I could use the 30-second face time to memorialize them.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025

It was not the kind of news you broke to your parents over the phone; this called for face time when they got back from up north.

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen