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 • Apr. 16, 2025

A day after the win, senior linebacker Taariq Al-Uqdah tweeted, “What’s up with the hate towards Inglewood?? … We just playing ball,” with a facepalm and crying-laughing emoji.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2021

Even in the briefing room, his occasional facepalm speaks volumes.

From Washington Post • May 1, 2020

Brown, for his part, tweeted eight similar “thank you” messages to the Patriots for the opportunity and a “Just got fired on Friday” with a facepalm emoji.

From The Guardian • Sep. 23, 2019

Other newcomers Sokolowski shared are aquafaba, beatdown, zomboid, twerk, sheeple, wayback, bokeh, botnet, emoji, facepalm, frowny, hivemind, puggle and nubber.

From Washington Times • Sep. 24, 2018