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View synonyms for

face down

verb

  1. to confront and force (someone or something) to back down

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Idioms and Phrases

With the upper surface put down, as in Please put these papers face down . This usage appears to come from cardplaying. [First half of 1600s] The antonym, “with the upper surface uppermost,” is face up .

Overcome, intimidate, or browbeat someone in a bold confrontation. This verbal expression dates from the 16th century. Shakespeare used it in The Comedy of Errors (3:1): “Here's a villain that would face me down.”

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Ukrainian soldiers who saw Hodniuk's body told the country's state security service, the SBU, that it lay face down with no weapon nearby.

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Then there were more gunshots and explosions, Zuev said, and he saw Hodniuk fall face down into the mud.

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None of the officials in the room, several of whom know Padilla, intervened to prevent the action by the agents, who eventually pushed the senator, face down, onto the ground, before handcuffing him.

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He was found face down in the middle of the small pool, with the depth at that point being about 0.8 metres.

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But a person can drown in as little as an inch of water if they are lying face down in it.

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