face down

adjective or adverb

variants or less commonly face-down or facedown
Synonyms of face downnext
: with the face down
He was face down on the bed. = He was lying face down on the bed.
Two cards are dealt face down to each player, then the first round of bets is made.Thomas L. Clark
… she walked past us to the lab area, placed the paper face down on the table and looked back at us.David Kwiatkowski
… stood up so fast he knocked his plate of waffles facedown onto the floor.Ingrid Law
usually hyphenated before a noun
… an alternate paper path has been added to turn out face-down copies in proper order, so they don't have to be collated manually.William J. Lynott

Examples of face down in a Sentence

The cards were dealt facedown. He fell facedown in the sand.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Investigators allege that Yang had been left face down on a pullout couch for at least 15 hours. Jazmin Alvarado, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026 Place the blade or blades back on the mower, making sure sharp edges face down toward the lawn. Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 8 June 2026 Deputy Gourley quickly located the victim in the water floating face down and pulled her to shore. Alex Nitzberg, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026 Motiwalla was found shot to death, lying face down in the parking lot of an office building at 350 Camino Gardens Blvd. Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 8 June 2026 Moments later, Carter discovers Dwight lying face down after being shot in the back by Sheriff Wade (Josh Stewart). Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026 Police said 18-year-old Jeremiah Williamson was found severely burned, lying face down near the railroad tracks in Baltimore's Morrell Park neighborhood. Adam Thompson, CBS News, 3 June 2026 Even if the phone is face down on the table or tucked in your pocket, your brain knows that a notification can ding or there is an opportunity to look away from the company and find a funny video. Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 30 May 2026 The same hot tub Perry was later that day found dead and face down in. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of face down was in 1818

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

facedown

adverb
face·​down ˈfās-ˈdau̇n How to pronounce facedown (audio)
: with the face down
floated facedown
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