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

The FTC today enforces some 80 statutes that cover “almost every facet of the Nation’s economy, and the tasks it undertakes are ‘the very essence of “execution” of the law,’” the Chief writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Gans wrote about this facet of the history recently in Slate.

From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026

In a show built around characters who fought to obscure nearly every facet of their true inner lives, Maddy was refreshingly, sometimes brutally herself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

He’s old enough to be fascinated by the idea of liminality because it represents the destruction of a facet of life that was once objectively true: community.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

The only redeeming facet of Support Group was this kid named Isaac, a long-faced, skinny guy with straight blond hair swept over one eye.

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

Post game, Bellingham said: "The game is split into loads of different facets – technical, tactical, and, the biggest one is psychological, managing adversity."

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Then there are all the facets of his campaign that remind us he’s new here, that he’s maybe just throwing spaghetti at the wall.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

I was good at all facets of my job, and people suggested I go into consulting and make some real money.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

That is, putting all facets of an operation under the command and control of one central administrator.

From Barron's ● May 2, 2026

Such activities sometimes concern facets a man does not know he has.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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

The lights are faceted, Wardlaw said, so they give off better light and they rarely break.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024

"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

The septon removed a faceted crystal sphere from the soft cloth bag at his waist.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

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

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

It appears Dupont was making money before the war by faceting spinels into false diamonds for dowagers and baronesses.

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

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

From A Pair of Blue Eyes by Hardy, Thomas

The polishing of stones, whether cabochon or facetted, is accomplished by the use of very finely powdered abrasives such as corundum powder, tripoli, pumice, putty powder, etc.

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

Recently it has become common to polish the tops of colored stones with a smooth unfacetted, slightly convex surface, the back being facetted in either the brilliant or the step arrangement.

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

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 Wade, Frank Bertram

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 Wade, Frank Bertram