face mask

American  

Or facemask

noun

1. Sports. the protective equipment, usually made of steel or plastic, that guards the face, as the steel cage worn by a baseball catcher or the molded plastic covering worn by a hockey goalkeeper.

2. any of various similar devices to shield the face, sometimes attached to or forming part of a helmet, as that worn by workers engaged in a hazardous activity.

---

Etymology

Origin of face mask

First recorded in 1905–10; face + mask

Example Sentences

Wearing a face mask, Maradona struggled to walk onto the field on his own.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

His hands were bound with plastic cable ties and he was wearing orange overalls and a black face mask.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

During the removal process, she wore a face mask connected to a rolling cart of the laughing gas and oxygen tanks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

He tried teaching over Zoom and did private lessons, wearing a face mask and hoofing it to as many as 16 homes a day.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025

With her bee-free hand, Priscilla swept off the mesh face mask.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby