face-plant

1 of 2

noun

variants or faceplant
plural face-plants or faceplants
: a sudden face-first fall
tripped and did a face-plant

face-plant

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly faceplant
face-planted also faceplanted; face-planting also faceplanting; face-plants also faceplants
: to fall suddenly and face-first : to do a face-plant
tripped and face-planted on the stage

Examples of face-plant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
Elias cited injuries, underperformance and players pressing for the face-plant that followed last year’s 91-win season. Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 20 June 2025 In her rush to intervene, Stacy trips on a wire and face-plants hard. Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 2 May 2025 All will have successes, failures, face-plants and power plays, and all will do it on the biggest stages around. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 18 Dec. 2024 Sony already watched Morbius and Madame Web face-plant at the box office, earning a mere $167 million and $100 million globally, respectively. Mark Hughes, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024 We were determined not to face-plant and embarrass ourselves. Mara Reinstein, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2024 The death-defying design of the skates, along with the heavy material of the long brown skirt, would cause most athletes to face-plant within seconds. Dina Gachman, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2024 This lasts one or two seconds before I face-plant into the lake, water gushing up my nose with the force of a fire hydrant. Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2024 For his generation, Snap was the grapevine; every thought or face-plant was posted there. Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1981, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1986, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of face-plant was in 1981

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Face-plant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face-plant. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

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