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
In Zoya’s rendering of a rape victim lying face down in blood, her head has turned too far to the side, like a broken doll’s, and her empty eye sockets stare at the viewer.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2024
He was placed face down on the pavement and handcuffed.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 14 Sep. 2024
The drone video shows how, once all three Ukrainians are out of the trench and lying face down, the Russians fire.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 6 Sep. 2024
His body was found floating face down in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.
—Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2024
The gunman stood over Hughes, who was sprawled face down on the pavement.
—Keith Sharon, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024
Friends Instagram Remembers Matthew Perry's 'Light' on What Would Be His 55th Birthday
The cast also recently lost one of their own — Perry was found dead face down in his jacuzzi on Oct. 29, 2023.
—Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
He was found floating face down in a jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades home.
—Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 18 Aug. 2024
Perry, 54, was found face down in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023.
—Chantelle Lee, TIME, 16 Aug. 2024
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2024
He was placed face down on the pavement and handcuffed.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 14 Sep. 2024
The drone video shows how, once all three Ukrainians are out of the trench and lying face down, the Russians fire.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 6 Sep. 2024
His body was found floating face down in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.
—Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2024
The gunman stood over Hughes, who was sprawled face down on the pavement.
—Keith Sharon, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2024
Friends Instagram Remembers Matthew Perry's 'Light' on What Would Be His 55th Birthday
The cast also recently lost one of their own — Perry was found dead face down in his jacuzzi on Oct. 29, 2023.
—Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
He was found floating face down in a jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades home.
—Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 18 Aug. 2024
Perry, 54, was found face down in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023.
—Chantelle Lee, TIME, 16 Aug. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'face down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near face down
Cite this Entry
“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facedown
adverb
face·down
ˈfās-ˈdau̇n 
: with the face down
floated facedown
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