facepalm

American  

[feys-pahm] / ˈfeɪsˌpɑm /

Or face palm or face-palm

noun

1. the gesture of placing the palm of one's hand across the face, as to express embarrassment, frustration, disbelief, etc. (often used as an interjection): Okay, that was dumb—facepalm!

   She read the post and comments and did a facepalm.

   Okay, that was dumb—facepalm!

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verb (used without object)

1. to use this gesture to express such emotions.

Usage

What does facepalm mean? Facepalm refers to the gesture of putting one's hand up against the face, used mainly to express feelings of stupidity and frustration about oneself or others.

Etymology

Origin of facepalm

First recorded in 2000–05; face + palm ¹ ( def. 1 )

Example Sentences

Villa defender Ezri Konsa did a facepalm gesture as he and midfielder Youri Tielemans tried to contain their laughter, while PSG's Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembele exchanged puzzled glances.

From BBC

When Lyles’ made his “world champion of what?” comment last year, Booker responded with a facepalm emoji.

From Los Angeles Times

Donovan responded with several facepalm emojis and joked, “Where were you 7 hours ago???”

From Los Angeles Times

Jamala, who is currently in Australia, responded to the news of her being placed on the list by posting a photo of herself in front of the Sydney Opera House with a link to an article about it and a facepalm emoji.

From BBC

This term, the high court has proved itself to be a kind of lethal combination of the History Channel and bazooka—if you’re taking the bar exam this summer, I would suggest that the answer to every constitutional law question is, quite reasonably, “facepalm.”

From Slate