faces off

verb

present tense third-person singular of face off
as in competes
to engage in a contest eager to face off with her longtime tennis rival

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 faces off As Crown, Jordan faces off against a former FBI agent (Adria Arjona) hunting him heist by heist. — Mya Copeland, Variety, 29 July 2026 With Kean running unopposed in the June 2 Republican primary, whichever Democrat faces off against him in November will almost certainly shape their campaign around his disappearance. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 23 May 2026 The singer faces off with Priestly just before an Italian fashion show performance. — Nigel Smith, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026 Jordan's character, a billionaire, faces off against a former FBI agent (played by Adria Arjona). — Saba Hamedy, NBC news, 17 Apr. 2026 These people have already drunk their faces off. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026 Every three years, the division faces off against a division from the NFC. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Jan. 2026 Christopher plays Anatoly Sergievsky, a Soviet chess champion who faces off against an American (Aaron Tveit), with a woman caught between them (Lea Michele). — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025 Before Alabama faces off against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, Saban offered a word of warning to head coach Kalen DeBoer and his Crimson Tide. — Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faces off
  1. competes
  2. contends
  3. races
Verb
  • Amazon is also continuing to invest in its warehouses, smaller fulfillment centers closer to customers and its fleet of trucks as the company competes to deliver packages within minutes or hours instead of just days.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Čihař competes hard, engages in physical play and gets to the net to create offense in a way that should translate to higher levels.
    — Corey Pronman, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of competes
Verb
  • The IndustriALL Bangladesh Council, or IBC, contends that the clock began when the existing garment wage took effect in December 2023.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The author contends the Fed cannot control price shifts stemming from sophisticated global cooperation, new technologies, or supply chain disruptions, making blame for inflation or expectations of quick fixes unrealistic.
    — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of contends
Verb
  • Finn Gomez / Getty Images Kirkwood, who races for Andretti Global, started second but took the lead on the opening lap with a daring maneuver around the outside of pole-sitter and championship leader Alex Palou in front of the National Archives.
    — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 23 Aug. 2026
  • When Phoebe Hunt, a documentarian for Tempus Tours, discovers that a real estate heiress who didn’t return from a journey is actually a suspicious woman from Phoebe’s past, Phoebe races to stop history from being rewritten.
    — Monitor reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of races

Browse Nearby Words

faces
faces off
faces up (to)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Faces off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faces%20off. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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