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
Powerhouse streamers such as Netflix, Apple and Amazon were absent, and not a single programming executive took the stage to face down the press.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 July 2024
Four security guards pinned him face down on the ground outside a hotel until police arrived.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 12 July 2024
The security guards who held him face down have been fired.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2024
According to police, Rodriguez failed to comply, and the video shows the officer grabbing her and throwing her face down on the ground, placing her under arrest.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2024
On the island of Samos, a 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a fire department drone on Saturday lying face down in a ravine about 300 meters (328 yards) from the spot where he was last seen six days earlier, walking with some difficulty in the blistering heat.
—Issy Ronald, CNN, 17 June 2024
The baby was found lying face down in the grass, crying outside a hotel in Westlake, Ohio, the city’s police department says.
—Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 4 July 2024
Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati is struggling to contact the families of those whose gravestones were damaged, as many of the gravestones are sitting face down with the names out of sight, according to the press release.
—Killian Baarlaer, The Enquirer, 1 July 2024
The Byers family and Eleven are off in California, Hopper is still (somehow) in a Russian prison, and the remaining crew are home in Hawkins, Indiana, about to face down a terrifying new threat—high school.
—Matt Kamen, WIRED, 22 June 2024
Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 July 2024
Four security guards pinned him face down on the ground outside a hotel until police arrived.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 12 July 2024
The security guards who held him face down have been fired.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2024
According to police, Rodriguez failed to comply, and the video shows the officer grabbing her and throwing her face down on the ground, placing her under arrest.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2024
On the island of Samos, a 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found by a fire department drone on Saturday lying face down in a ravine about 300 meters (328 yards) from the spot where he was last seen six days earlier, walking with some difficulty in the blistering heat.
—Issy Ronald, CNN, 17 June 2024
The baby was found lying face down in the grass, crying outside a hotel in Westlake, Ohio, the city’s police department says.
—Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 4 July 2024
Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati is struggling to contact the families of those whose gravestones were damaged, as many of the gravestones are sitting face down with the names out of sight, according to the press release.
—Killian Baarlaer, The Enquirer, 1 July 2024
The Byers family and Eleven are off in California, Hopper is still (somehow) in a Russian prison, and the remaining crew are home in Hawkins, Indiana, about to face down a terrifying new threat—high school.
—Matt Kamen, WIRED, 22 June 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 26 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facedown
adverb
face·down
ˈfās-ˈdau̇n 
: with the face down
floated facedown
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