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facepalm

American

[feys-pahm] / ˈfeɪsˌpɑm /

Or face palm or face-palm

noun

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!

verb (used without object)

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

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

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2024

“Newspapers are soooo dirty use parchment paper or something food safe,” said one recent commenter, ending her misguided rant with a facepalm emoji.

From Washington Post • Apr. 4, 2022

His response ended with the emojis for an embarrassed face and a facepalm.

From Washington Times • Aug. 9, 2021

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023