Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "face-off" []

  • A method of starting play in ice hockey, lacrosse, and other games in which an official drops the puck or ball between two opposing players who contend for its control. (noun)
  • A confrontation: "Marshall's face-off with Jefferson in Marbury v. Madison in 1803” ( Newsweek). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "face-off" in a sentence
  • "One of the panelists joked that the video clip of his face-off with Rev."
  • ""It's very cordial — at least at the beginning," says Milliner of their face-off."
  • "The streets of London are awash in blood, a zeppelin descends á la Hindenburg, and six of our favorite characters are locked in face-off fights."
Words like "face-off"
disagreement
ever-decreasing
ever-narrowing
ever-smaller
ever-tightening
funder
on-deck
seatwork
start
winners'