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
The sculptures were discovered lying face down in an in an empty Roman-Byzantine wine collection vat.
—Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 16 June 2026
Simmons told the deputy that Nancy was lying on their kitchen floor, where the deputy ultimately found her face down in a pool of blood, according to the affidavit.
—Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026
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
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
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Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 16 June 2026
Simmons told the deputy that Nancy was lying on their kitchen floor, where the deputy ultimately found her face down in a pool of blood, according to the affidavit.
—Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026
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
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
Cite this Entry
“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facedown
adverb
face·down
ˈfās-ˈdau̇n 
: with the face down
floated facedown
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