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
… she walked past us to the lab area, placed the paper face down on the table and looked back at us.David Kwiatkowski
… stood up so fast he knocked his plate of waffles facedown onto the floor.Ingrid Law
usually hyphenated before a noun
… 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

Examples of face down in a Sentence

The cards were dealt facedown. He fell facedown in the sand.
Recent Examples on the Web Police responded to a call about 2 a.m. of a man lying face down in the street near 8th and Alvarado streets in Westlake, west of downtown, according to Officer Norma Eisenman, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department. Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2024 Someone called 911 shortly after 12:15 p.m. to report seeing a body floating face down in the creek near Post Oak Village Park, according to police records. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Mar. 2024 This grim assortment of relics is housed in a small museum in New Jersey, about 20 miles away from where the decaying body of Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the toddler Hauptmann was convicted of kidnapping and killing, was discovered face down in the dirt. Tracey Tully, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 In another neighborhood, the bloodied bodies of two men with their hands tied behind their backs lay face down as residents walked past roadblocks set up with burning tires. Evens Sanon and Pierre-Richard Luxama, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024 Cutting-edge Massage: Rosenthal lies face down on a spa table, draped in a cloth, then a therapist vigorously rhythm-taps the length of his body with knives. Laura Manske, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 The critiques made headlines in 2022 after the death of Herman Whitfield III, a 39-year-old Black man who was undergoing an apparent mental health crisis in his home when Indianapolis officers tased, handcuffed and placed him face down on the ground. Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Feb. 2024 His friend on Discord called 911 when Kidwell allegedly found the child face down in the water, according to the affidavit, the outlet reported. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 Herro lost the ball and immediately grabbed his left knee while lying face down on the court. Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 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.

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of face down was in 1818

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 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

facedown

adverb
face·​down ˈfās-ˈdau̇n How to pronounce facedown (audio)
: with the face down
floated facedown
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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