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
… she walked past us to the lab area, placed the paper face down on the table and looked back at us.David Kwiatkowski
… stood up so fast he knocked his plate of waffles facedown onto the floor.Ingrid Law
usually hyphenated before a noun
… 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

Examples of face down in a Sentence

The cards were dealt facedown. He fell facedown in the sand.
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.
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 The front-door window had been broken and Forrest was lying face down in the back in a pool of blood, cops said. Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025 As Gonzalez was lying face down, the Oilers’ Alexis Katter was able to kick the ball into an open net. Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 16 Jan. 2025 Outside the courtroom, Hermes lay face down on the tile floor in front of the elevators with his hands handcuffed behind his back. Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Jan. 2025 Musk then slapped his chest with his right hand, before flinging it diagonally upwards, palm face down. Chad De Guzman, TIME, 21 Jan. 2025 By Kate Sloan Lie face down on a mat with your legs extended and arms supporting your chest. Amy Marturana Winderl, SELF, 14 Jan. 2025 Hughes was face down on the ground about four car lengths behind them. Keith Sharon, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of face down was in 1818

Dictionary Entries Near face down

Cite this Entry

“Face down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face%20down. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

facedown

adverb
face·​down ˈfās-ˈdau̇n How to pronounce facedown (audio)
: with the face down
floated facedown
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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