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
Myron's wife, Amy, said on social media the man was face down in the water when her husband sprang into action.
—Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 3 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 lifeguards swam to the surfer, who was face down, unconscious and not breathing.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026
The same hot tub Perry was later that day found dead and face down in.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 May 2026
Samuelson was motionless, lying face down on the floor.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2026
Amid the screams and chaos lay Manzo, face down and bleeding.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s defiant bid to face down a rebellion left his future in the balance Wednesday, but that wasn’t going to stop the United Kingdom playing dress-up for the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 13 May 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 3 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 lifeguards swam to the surfer, who was face down, unconscious and not breathing.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026
The same hot tub Perry was later that day found dead and face down in.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 May 2026
Samuelson was motionless, lying face down on the floor.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2026
Amid the screams and chaos lay Manzo, face down and bleeding.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s defiant bid to face down a rebellion left his future in the balance Wednesday, but that wasn’t going to stop the United Kingdom playing dress-up for the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facedown
adverb
face·down
ˈfās-ˈdau̇n 
: with the face down
floated facedown
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