facelift

American  

[feys-lift] / ˈfeɪsˌlɪft /

Or face-lift

noun

• facelifts
  plural

1. plastic surgery on the face for elevating sagging tissues and eliminating wrinkles and other signs of age; rhytidectomy.

2. a renovation or restyling, as of a room or building, intended to give an attractive, more up-to-date appearance.

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verb (used with object)

1. to perform a surgical facelift upon.

2. to renovate or restyle in order to give a fresher, more modern appearance.

   Our old offices have been facelifted with new furniture, rugs, and plants.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• facelifts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of facelift

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Explanation

A facelift is a surgical procedure that's meant to tighten the skin of the face in order to make a patient look younger. Wealthy people who hate their wrinkles may be tempted to have a facelift. Many older actors in Hollywood give into the temptation of having a facelift, instead of accepting the facial changes that naturally come with age. But facelifts are very expensive, can be dangerous, and frequently result in a strangely expressionless visage. A figurative facelift is anything that improves something's appearance: "While I was away, my sister gave my boring bedroom a facelift, painting the walls purple and replacing my old bedding."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

facelift facelifts

Known popularly as the "corn" because of its resemblance to the summer barbecue staple, the towering former communist-era barracks' facelift is already under scrutiny for potential misuse of the central European country's public funds.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

Wait, I asked you — “Work” is like a facelift, and I only had one of those.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

The new “RHONY” lasted two seasons before being sent back to the factory for another facelift, and the series remains in limbo.

From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2025

USAir’s betrayal was a particular nightmare given how the airport’s facelift had been funded.

From Slate ● Nov. 24, 2025

On the other hand, if you want to emphasize that several things about Phyllis show her age, you should choose plurals for both verbs: What give away Phyllis's age are the knees and the facelift.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Among patients 66 and older, demand for breast augmentations, tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts and facelifts all increased by double digits.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026

Nevertheless, how many people who know better jumped into the fray to attack a 64-year-old woman who has the means to do whatever she wants, including facelifts?

From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2023

I keep reading that boys and girls are getting facelifts when they’re 12.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2021

First set aside for the public in 1819 when its natural springs supplied water to the White House, Franklin Square has had many facelifts, including after the Civil War, in 1936 and in the mid-1970s.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 7, 2020

Elsewhere Ricky Martin runs a science and technology recruitment company, while Leah Totton now has a string of cosmetic clinics offering services including thread facelifts, botox and wrinkle reduction.

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2019