at face value, take
Idioms-
Accept from its outward appearance, as in You can't always take a manufacturer's advertisements at face value; they're bound to exaggerate. Literally this idiom has referred to the monetary value printed on a bank note, stock certificate, bond, or other financial instrument since the 1870s. The figurative usage is from the late 1800s.
-
see at face value.
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.
The main problem with “A League of His Own” is Mr. Stein’s willingness to take at face value Spalding’s claims in his 1911 book, “America’s National Game,” which systematically inflates Spalding’s role in events.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
We have to worry about whether videos are trustworthy, something that we used to take at face value.
From Salon • Apr. 2, 2024
It is also really hard to take at face value.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2024
"I think we can't entirely take at face value the bookies' odds as a predictor or a forecast of this election outcome," Foord says.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2022
“I used to take at face value that these people must be guilty of something if we were looking at them,” he continued.
From New York Times • Sep. 1, 2021
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.
