face down
adjective or adverb
variants
or less commonly face-down
or facedown
: 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
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
David Kwiatkowski… stood up so fast he knocked his plate of waffles facedown onto the floor.—Ingrid Law
—usually hyphenated before a nounIngrid Law… 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
William J. LynottExamples of face down in a Sentence
The cards were dealt facedown.
He fell facedown in the sand.
Recent Examples on the Web
Unbeknownst to the targets, they were seated at a poker table fitted with X-ray technology designed to read cards placed face down on the table.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
The technology used included altered shuffling machines that could read the decks, X-ray machines that could read cards through the table when placed face down, and glasses with hidden cameras.
—Colin Meyn, The Hill, 24 Oct. 2025
An X-ray table that could read cards face down on the table was also used, Nocella alleged.
—Dan Gallo, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
Eileen’s determination to face down the boys and be accepted for her full self or Hedda sneaking around and steering everyone’s fates behind the scenes?
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Police officers caught me, laid me face down in the building’s hallway, and cuffed me.
—Joe Garcia, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Black widows, con women, demented doctors and even a guy going berserk in his underwear make for an engaging rogues’ gallery for Frank and his folksy colleagues to face down.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Adair is not seen moving, his hands are still pushed forward and his head is face down on the bed, according to court documents.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2025
The video shows the suspect, who was wearing a black hoodie, lying face down on the metal cart.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
The technology used included altered shuffling machines that could read the decks, X-ray machines that could read cards through the table when placed face down, and glasses with hidden cameras.
—Colin Meyn, The Hill, 24 Oct. 2025
An X-ray table that could read cards face down on the table was also used, Nocella alleged.
—Dan Gallo, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
Eileen’s determination to face down the boys and be accepted for her full self or Hedda sneaking around and steering everyone’s fates behind the scenes?
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Police officers caught me, laid me face down in the building’s hallway, and cuffed me.
—Joe Garcia, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Black widows, con women, demented doctors and even a guy going berserk in his underwear make for an engaging rogues’ gallery for Frank and his folksy colleagues to face down.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Adair is not seen moving, his hands are still pushed forward and his head is face down on the bed, according to court documents.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2025
The video shows the suspect, who was wearing a black hoodie, lying face down on the metal cart.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facedown
adverb
face·down
ˈfās-ˈdau̇n 
: with the face down
floated facedown
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