Definition of face-to-facenext
1
as in personally
in person and usually privately I won't believe that accusation until I meet with him face-to-face and ask him myself

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2
as in one-on-one
in direct confrontation or competition came face-to-face with her lifelong fear of flying even before the plane left the runway

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of face-to-face The Bureau of Rodent Control responds to 311 requests and proactively addresses rodent baiting through door-to-door abatement, face-to-face engagement with residents, and informational materials. Tara Molina, CBS News, 13 Feb. 2026 The employees received emails with options for dates and times for face-to-face interviews. Joe Vardon, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026 Any terms related to the loss of land, for example, can be resolved only when Zelensky and Putin meet face-to-face. Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026 This allowed the team to reach a Reynolds number of 2,500, a level of physical fidelity that finally brings computer models face-to-face with real-world laboratory experiments. Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for face-to-face
Recent Examples of Synonyms for face-to-face
Adverb
  • Hughes said the brothers, who roomed together, kept their door open all week and personally spoke to every single American athlete competing in Milan who stayed at the village.
    Chris Kudialis, Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2026
  • This was always considered to be one of those shutdowns that would not hit the American people personally for a while.
    ABC News, ABC News, 22 Feb. 2026
Adverb
  • The Heat has two games left to play against the 76ers, and can clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker over Philadelphia with a win in either of those two remaining matchups.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2026
  • Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images The strategic trading card game Magic, which was created in 1993, typically features two players going head-to-head using custom decks of collectible cards to cast spells, unleash creatures or use artifacts to defeat their opponent.
    Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 21 Feb. 2026
Adverb
  • Ethan Hawke embraced politics head-on at the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday ahead of the premiere of his latest movie, The Weight.
    Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Two people were killed and a third person was seriously injured Monday afternoon following a head-on collision on Highway 49 in El Dorado County, officials said.
    Richard Ramos, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Face-to-face.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/face-to-face. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.

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