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
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
David Kwiatkowski… stood up so fast he knocked his plate of waffles facedown onto the floor.—Ingrid Law
—usually hyphenated before a nounIngrid Law… 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
William J. LynottExamples of face down in a Sentence
The cards were dealt facedown.
He fell facedown in the sand.
Recent Examples on the Web
Seeing Hill face down on the ground surrounded by officers who were not Black like him, my mind raced to George Floyd.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
The flight crew asked for help from passengers and several people stepped in and restrained the man face down in the aisle, according to a criminal complaint.
—Jennifer Rodriguez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Mar. 2025
The boy was face down with his torso on a couch cushion while his mother was directly on top of him.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
Some babies take comfort a step further and rest on their mother's chest, face down.
—Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
Lay a spoon face down over the top of a cup, with the rim of the glass about halfway down the concave part of the spoon.
—Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Saw the news According to the June 5 criminal complaint, the State Patrol responded to a report of a man lying face down on the right shoulder of eastbound I-94 just east of Jackson Street.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025
Keith Farquhar: Something entirely different … there's nothing here then or now that would suggest a 15-year-old girl should, all of a sudden, be face down in a small amount of water and mud and be dead.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2025
To practice: Start out by lying on your back with feet flat, knees bent, and arms alongside your body, palms face down.
—Cory Martin, Verywell Health, 3 Feb. 2025
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Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
The flight crew asked for help from passengers and several people stepped in and restrained the man face down in the aisle, according to a criminal complaint.
—Jennifer Rodriguez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Mar. 2025
The boy was face down with his torso on a couch cushion while his mother was directly on top of him.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025
Some babies take comfort a step further and rest on their mother's chest, face down.
—Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
Lay a spoon face down over the top of a cup, with the rim of the glass about halfway down the concave part of the spoon.
—Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Saw the news According to the June 5 criminal complaint, the State Patrol responded to a report of a man lying face down on the right shoulder of eastbound I-94 just east of Jackson Street.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025
Keith Farquhar: Something entirely different … there's nothing here then or now that would suggest a 15-year-old girl should, all of a sudden, be face down in a small amount of water and mud and be dead.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2025
To practice: Start out by lying on your back with feet flat, knees bent, and arms alongside your body, palms face down.
—Cory Martin, Verywell Health, 3 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facedown
adverb
face·down
ˈfās-ˈdau̇n 
: with the face down
floated facedown
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