facet

[fas-it]

noun

1. a small, polished, flat surface, usually in the shape of a polygon, such as one of the surfaces of a cut gem.

2. a smooth, flat surface cut on a fragment of rock by the action of water, windblown sand, etc.

3. aspect; phase.

   They carefully examined every facet of the argument.

4. Architecture.,  any of the faces of a column cut in a polygonal form.

5. Zoology.,  one of the corneal lenses of a compound arthropod eye.

6. Anatomy.,  a small, smooth, flat area on a hard surface, especially on a bone.

7. Dentistry.,  a small, highly burnished area, usually on the enamel surface of a tooth, produced by abrasion between opposing teeth in chewing.

verb (used with object)

faceted, faceting, facetted, facetting. 

1. to cut facets on.

facet

/ ˈfæsɪt /

noun

1. any of the surfaces of a cut gemstone

2. an aspect or phase, as of a subject or personality

3. architect the raised surface between the flutes of a column

4. any of the lenses that make up the compound eye of an insect or other arthropod

5. anatomy any small smooth area on a hard surface, as on a bone

verb

1. (tr) to cut facets in (a gemstone)

Word History and Origins

Origin of facet¹

First recorded in 1615–25, from the French facette “little face”; face ( def. ), -ette ( )

Word History and Origins

Origin of facet¹

C17: from French facette a little _face

Example Sentences

Winning football matches is about being better at all facets of the game, but my principles were that both final thirds were the areas that mattered the most.

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Smith’s activist career gets fairly short shrift in the movie, although it’s an important facet of her recent life.

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One of the great conceits of California is its place on the cutting edge — of fashion, culture, technology, politics and other facets of the ways we live and thrive.

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Another key facet of Cheney's foreign policy was a reliance on "extraordinary renditions" of suspected terrorists captured abroad or on US soil in order to avoid US domestic courts from having jurisdiction oversight individual cases.

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There was no physical evidence linking Garbutt to the murder, with a key facet of the case against him based on data from the Horizon system and how it was interpreted by the Post Office.

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