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
Earlier this month, images circulated on social media showing corpses lying face down on the ground and people being evacuated in a vehicle after a suicide drone was launched.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
George Floyd, Charlie Kirk and 'cancel culture' One was a Black man who died face down on a Minneapolis street after a grocery store clerk accused him of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
Anderson, a senior, was initially motionless and face down after his head appeared to hit Raridon around the thigh following a 25-yard throw down the right hash marks.
—Lauren Merola, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Taddese is on the ground, bent over, face down, as a man kicks him, and the woman who was pushed, dressed in a black jumpsuit and barefoot, gets up and begins punching him.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
After complaining of pain, Nelson continues, Dakar rinsed off the solution and gave her a fan to cool her face down.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
Demetrius Shumpert forced Reyes-Jungwirth to lie on the ground face down.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
She was found lying naked and face down, and suffered 17 stab wounds, and had defensive wounds on her hands.
—Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Keesler did not drop the weapon, prompting Olson to fire his handgun three times at Keesler, who fell face down on the floor, just in front of his father, with the knife still in his right hand, according to the DA’s office.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2025
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.
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
George Floyd, Charlie Kirk and 'cancel culture' One was a Black man who died face down on a Minneapolis street after a grocery store clerk accused him of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
Anderson, a senior, was initially motionless and face down after his head appeared to hit Raridon around the thigh following a 25-yard throw down the right hash marks.
—Lauren Merola, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Taddese is on the ground, bent over, face down, as a man kicks him, and the woman who was pushed, dressed in a black jumpsuit and barefoot, gets up and begins punching him.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
After complaining of pain, Nelson continues, Dakar rinsed off the solution and gave her a fan to cool her face down.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
Demetrius Shumpert forced Reyes-Jungwirth to lie on the ground face down.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
She was found lying naked and face down, and suffered 17 stab wounds, and had defensive wounds on her hands.
—Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Keesler did not drop the weapon, prompting Olson to fire his handgun three times at Keesler, who fell face down on the floor, just in front of his father, with the knife still in his right hand, according to the DA’s office.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facedown
adverb
face·down
ˈfās-ˈdau̇n 
: with the face down
floated facedown
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share