face-plant

1 of 2

noun

variants or faceplant
plural face-plants or faceplants
: a sudden face-first fall
tripped and did a face-plant

face-plant

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly faceplant
face-planted also faceplanted; face-planting also faceplanting; face-plants also faceplants
: to fall suddenly and face-first : to do a face-plant
tripped and face-planted on the stage

Examples of face-plant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
We were determined not to face-plant and embarrass ourselves. Mara Reinstein, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2024 The death-defying design of the skates, along with the heavy material of the long brown skirt, would cause most athletes to face-plant within seconds. Dina Gachman, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2024 This lasts one or two seconds before I face-plant into the lake, water gushing up my nose with the force of a fire hydrant. Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2024 For his generation, Snap was the grapevine; every thought or face-plant was posted there. Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2024 The developments amount to a face-plant by Humane, which had positioned itself as a top contender among a wave of A.I. hardware makers. Erin Griffith, New York Times, 6 June 2024 Cannes Film Festival At a Cannes Film Festival of big swings and face-plants, real life takes a back seat. Christian Orozco, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024 But regardless of this weekend’s silver medal, there’s no denying the rough ride ahead for the Ghostbusters franchise, and that’s bad news for Sony after the face-plant of Madame Web last month. Mark Hughes, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024 But Google's recent layoffs hit that trust and safety team at a time when those particular workers are under pressure to help correct the public face-plant of the Gemini image generator rollout. Michael Calore Lauren Goode, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1981, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1986, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of face-plant was in 1981

Dictionary Entries Near face-plant

Cite this Entry

“Face-plant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/face-plant. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

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