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

The task suits her: “To study human nature, both at its best and its worst—to examine every facet of a crime, whether of evidence or motivation—it was the most fascinating activity she knew.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Their hope is that they will easily meet all their obligations with future revenue as consumers and businesses adopt AI in every facet of American life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 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

The Panthers were dominating every facet of the game, but fumbles and penalties had kept Permian from leading 35-0 at the half.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

But in the AI age I think so-called effort signaling will become increasingly important as a way of showing care across all facets of society.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

While these facets might depict our tech-obsessed age, Mungiu writes them in a way that makes the Norwegians look silly, and the Gheorghius look like objectively good parents.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Against Sabalenka, she showed both facets of her game, bullying her from the baseline and digging in when she had to to leave her a French Open title away from the career Grand Slam.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

It’s as if all the things I’ve learned have fused into a crystal universe spinning before me so that I can see all the facets of it reflected in gorgeous bursts of light....

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Alongside his own survey of Mont Blanc published in a monumental chromolithograph is his modest diagram of its underlying crystalline structure, as if it were a faceted gem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

"There is a multi faceted transformation that needs to take place" for established automakers such as BMW, said Evangelos Simoudis, a Silicon Valley venture capital investor and expert on vehicle software strategies.

From Reuters ● Sep. 2, 2023

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

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

For instance, it’s easy to read visual similarities and divergences in the Cubist faceting of paired landscapes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2016

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

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

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2013

He examines a copy of Streeters Precious Stones and Gems; drawings of cleavage panes; trigonometric charts used for faceting.

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

They are less expensive to cut than fully facetted stones and do not have the snappy brilliancy of the latter.

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

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

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

When completely facetted the brilliant is finished and requires only to be cleaned, when it is ready for sale.

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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