facet

American  

[fas-it] / ˈfæs ɪt /

noun

• facets
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

faceted, faceting, facetted, facetting

1. to cut facets on.

facet British  

/ 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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• facets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of facet

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

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Explanation

A facet is one side or aspect of something. If you’re thinking about quitting your day job to become a circus performer, you should first consider every facet of what your new life would be like. Facet, which is related to the word face, can also refer to one of the flat “faces” of a diamond or other gem. This was the word’s original definition, and it was evidently seen as an apt metaphor for one side of a complex idea. When a problem has many parts to consider (or when it’s just a huge mess), you can describe it as multifaceted.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

facet facets faceted faceting facetted facetting

“Serving in the Army has made me better in every facet of my life — a better husband, father, professional,” Spatola said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

As a general-purpose technology, artificial intelligence is rapidly making its way into every facet of the business world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

It made possible nearly every facet of digital life, from surfing the internet to texting friends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Decades before coaches began to insist their players be 'multi-dimensional' cricketers rather than only contributing in one facet of the game, Sobers was the ultimate all-round sportsman.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Subsistence is a convenient facet of society with which to start, since it in turn affected other facets.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

There are so many interesting facets of this story, and I wish that the film would have taken the time and the care to tell them.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

But lately, there’s been a greater appreciation for the various facets of Microsoft’s business.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Even if you don’t, you might, as this hodgepodge of anecdotes, trivia and theories is less about stamps in particular and more about the compulsion to collect in all its facets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

I’ve thought about it when I examine the facets of my career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Certain facets of a child’s outcome—personality, for instance, or creativity—are not easily measured by data.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Her fractured, broken, faceted statue is Cubist in structure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

I’m pleased to report that the car’s most beguiling bit of cabin jewelry—the faceted gear selector, like a steampunk gaming cube embedded in the center console—made it through to the latest redesign.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2025

In a moment of great danger, “the bergs are many, lavender and faceted, when the air is full of floating ice crystals.”

From Scientific American ● Aug. 20, 2023

The beechwood panels blanketing walls and balcony fronts are faceted to diffuse sound in jazzy patterns that evoke musical staves.

From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2022

I examined the keyhole in the center of the door, then looked at the words printed directly above it, etched into the door’s faceted surface.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

The cubist faceting of both figures and ground gives each panel a density of surface and a propulsive, lilting energy, like swing jazz but with spiked edges.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 23, 2020

Here she has done a good job of sculpting and faceting the building’s shape, such that from some angles it might be thought to soar.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 6, 2015

The figures are rendered in a self-consciously arty style — call it "mass-market modern" — that is a kind of Cubist faceting squashed flat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2014

And from afar the vertical faceting of the Shard’s facade reduces the impression of bulk.

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2013

Sometimes he’d recut diamonds or consult on high-level faceting projects.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Kerans watches the "countless reflections of the sun move across the surface in huge sheets of fire, like the blazing facetted eyes of gigantic insects".

From The Guardian ● Jul. 13, 2012

Large quantities of hornblende are also met with at Levesque Harbor, Bellot Strait, composed of facetted crystals agglutinated together into large masses, forming a crystalline hornblendic gneiss.

From In the Arctic Seas A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions by Francis Leopold McClintock

A facetted carbuncle accompanied by ten little twinkling emeralds; &c. &c.

From A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy

The sloping surface of the upper cone is facetted with thirty-two facets in the full cut brilliant, while the lower cone receives twenty-four.

From A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public by Frank Bertram Wade

The rubbing down process does not leave a facetted surface, but only a coarse roughly rounded or flattened surface.

From A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public by Frank Bertram Wade

In general, however, the slitting or cleaving, the rubbing down to shape, the smoothing out of all scratches and the facetting and polishing are done somewhat similarly by all lapidaries.

From A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public by Frank Bertram Wade

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