straight face

American

noun

a serious or impassive facial expression that conceals one's true feelings about something, especially a desire to laugh.

straight face British

noun

a serious facial expression, esp one that conceals the impulse to laugh

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

straight face Idioms

see keep a straight face.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of straight face

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

And I remember thinking, “oh my gosh, that someone could say that with a straight face? What am I doing here?”

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026

"I played Mafia growing up... I played that for 15 years. I became very good at any game where I had to play a straight face."

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

If such denials can be made with a straight face, they may carry the day when a prosecution is at stake.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Down a busy street in Sants, Maleducat was rewriting Catalan home cooking with a straight face.

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025

Even the preacher couldn’t keep a straight face.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023