face down
Britishverb
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With the upper surface put down, as in Please put these papers face down . This usage appears to come from cardplaying. [First half of 1600s] The antonym, “with the upper surface uppermost,” is face up .
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Overcome, intimidate, or browbeat someone in a bold confrontation. This verbal expression dates from the 16th century. Shakespeare used it in The Comedy of Errors (3:1): “Here's a villain that would face me down.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He also announced his intention to allow Ukraine to produce anti-aircraft Patriot missiles, which are badly needed to face down Russian attacks.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
"I helped sort of shoo him onto the boat, because he was face down too... but the seven-year-old was not in a good way," said Bowe, who was helped by an unnamed man.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The video also shows other men lying face down -- presumably two workers -- and a relative who worked with them.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
What Bagehot actually said was that a central bank must face down a panic by lending freely at a high rate of interest to solvent banks against good collateral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
But they will have to wait to do the final side, because that side is lying face down.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
