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

Etymology

Origin of facet

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

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

It was also coach Jim Harbaugh’s first loss in seven NFL season openers, which you wouldn’t have guessed watching his woefully unprepared team struggle in every facet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

“They really bring a cinematic eye to that facet of it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

In France, Yuka is one facet of a wider food-tracking phenomenon.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

As law, policy and regulation have penetrated deeper into every facet of life, the First Amendment right “to petition the government for the redress of grievances” has become of utmost importance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Von Rumpel’s particular gift is for diamonds: he can facet and polish stones as well as any Aryan jeweler in Europe, and he often spots fakes at a glance.

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

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

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

A slew of new series showcasing the many facets of Los Angeles provide a tangible reminder of why Hollywood became, and should remain, the capital of the entertainment business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

This Juneteenth, we should try to confront and reclaim this holiday’s contradictory history, in all its facets.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

Giant windows, cut into facets that held the light like prisms, climbed up the tallest towers.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo

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

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

His faceted figures and faces in particular are astonishing made things that reach back through Cubism to the carved figures of African sculpture.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

There was a keyhole in the very center of the door, and directly above it, three words were etched into the door’s glittering, faceted surface: CHARITY.

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 most remarkable here in terms of size and faceting include the exquisitely simple “Shah Jahan Diamond” and the startlingly kaleidoscopic brilliant-cut stone known as the Idol’s Eye.

From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 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

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

Thence his eyes wandered over the town to far away where the ships' lights shone, and the pier glowed—a little illuminated, facetted pavilion like a gem of yellow light.

From The Invisible Man by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

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

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

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