straight face

noun

: a face giving no evidence of emotion and especially of merriment

lied with a straight face

straight-faced

ˈstrāt-ˈfāst 

adjective

straight-facedly

ˈstrāt-ˈfā-səd-lē 

-ˈfāst-lē

adverb

Examples of straight face in a Sentence

She lied with a straight face.

The students quickly put on straight faces as the teacher walked into the room.

Recent Examples on the Web

The assistant was answering with a straight face using data that was already hours stale. — Amirtha Saminathan, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

That everyone commits so fearlessly — and with such straight faces — to the Zellners’ berserk world-building is a joy to behold, aided by a terrific jukebox soundtrack and a chaotic, entropic plot that builds and builds to insane levels of carnage. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026

Devotees of trash movies do not love them with an entirely straight face, but our appreciation is not simply ironic, either. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026

The students stared at their feet and struggled to keep straight faces. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for straight face

• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace
• biface
• birthplace
• blackface
• boldface
• bookcase
• braincase
• briefcase
• carcase

Kids Definition

straight face

noun

: a face giving no evidence of feeling and especially of amusement

straight-faced

ˈstrāt-ˈfāst

adjective