Meaning of face-to-face in English

face-to-face

adverb

(also face to face)

/ˌfeɪs.təˈfeɪs/ us

/ˌfeɪs.təˈfeɪs/

directly, meeting someone in the same place:

We've spoken on the phone but never face-to-face.

face-to-face with If discussing your problem face-to-face with someone seems too difficult, try writing a letter about it.

come face-to-face She came face-to-face with her attacker in the courtroom.

directly experiencing or having to deal with a situation, usually a difficult one:

come face-to-face Eventually, he'll come face-to-face with the same question that hits every star when fame starts to dwindle: what now?

face-to-face with He is standing face-to-face with an issue similar to the one that ended his predecessor's prime ministership.

More examplesFewer examples

We felt it was important to meet people face-to-face and have real discussions.
We turned a corner and came face to face with a big bull right in the middle of the path.
This was the first time I came face to face with the phenomenon.
When resources are scarce, decision makers are brought face-to-face with difficult decisions of how to prioritize treatment among patients.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Meeting people

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Closeness in distance and time

Dealing with things or people

face-to-face

adjective

(also face to face)

uk/ˌfeɪs.təˈfeɪs/ us/ˌfeɪs.təˈfeɪs/

(of a meeting, conversation, etc.) with someone who you meet in the same place:

They never offered us a face-to-face meeting to discuss our questions.

Face-to-face contact can be important for good working relationships.

Now I was face to face with him at last.

experiencing or having to deal with a situation directly:

This country is face-to-face with one of the greatest tragedies in its history.

More examplesFewer examples

A well-run online class is better than a poor face-to-face class.
He gives his staff detailed responses in writing as well as face-to-face briefings.
Face to face contact between the complainant and the regulatory body would help.
We can offer face-to-face consultations by appointment.
Most listeners have no idea that the correspondent and presenter are not face-to-face in the studio.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Meeting people

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Closeness in distance and time

Dealing with things or people

face-to-face

noun [ C usually singular ]

informal (also face to face)

uk/ˌfeɪs.təˈfeɪs/ us/ˌfeɪs.təˈfeɪs/

a meeting or conversation between people who are physically in the same place:

Will it be a phone interview or a face-to-face?

I think it's time we met for a face to face.

face-to-face with She had managed to talk her way out of meeting with a client who wanted a face-to-face with her.

More examplesFewer examples

It's not easy getting a face-to-face with her.
Years later, after a face to face with him, she found she was able to let go of her anger.
Not many people can say they have had a face-to-face with a US president.
As a doctor I believe you really have to meet people, watch them very closely and observe their body language. You can only do that in a face-to-face.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Meeting people

See more results »

(Definition of face-to-face from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

face to face | Business English

face to face

adverb

(also face-to-face); (also f2f)

Add to word list Add to word list

if you talk to someone face to face, you talk directly to them, not by phone, email, online, etc.:

Banking customers still often want to do business face to face.

face to face

noun [ C ]

informal

a meeting that you have with someone in which you talk to them directly, not by phone, email, online, etc.

face-to-face

adjective [ before noun ]

/ˌfeɪstəˈfeɪs/ us

used to describe a situation in which you talk directly to another person, not by phone, email, online, etc.:

The CEO refused our request for a face-to-face interview.

(Definition of face-to-face from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of face-to-face

face-to-face

The supplier alone prepares the proposal and face-to-face meetings are very late and adversarial.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Where face-to-face attendance at team meetings is difficult, access to alternative ways of communicating with other team members will be found.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In face-to-face communication, indicators of emotions, such as facial expressions, are mostly displayed subconsciously.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Ninety-five people volunteered to participate and answered a face-to-face questionnaire in the presence of an interpreter, after written informed consent was obtained.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

To address this question, this study examines referential practice in a particular kind of face-to-face workplace setting, the service counter of a quick print shop.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The qualitative analysis demonstrates how pronoun alternation functions as a contextualization cue in face-to-face interactions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In general, parents in individualistic societies foster the child's symbolization and tool use through special moments of play that are organized around face-to-face interactions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Parents sometimes played with the infant, engaged in face-to-face interaction with the infants, or conversed with the recording assistant.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

First we examined the likelihood of parent and child having face-to-face contact several times a week depending on the class of both parent and child.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Discourse analysis can illuminate how the experience of ageing and later life is lived through face-to-face interaction.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

When resources in the healthcare sector diminish, decision makers are brought face-to-face with difficult decisions of prioritizing treatment among patients.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the contrast, she incidentally but helpfully reminds readers of important characteristics of face-to-face vocal communication.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The inner portion of the joint has face-to-face contact and no glue.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Although both studies consisted of several waves of either telephone or face-to-face interviews, our analyses are based only on the face-to-face interviews.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Client satisfaction in a feasibility study comparing face-to-face interviews with telepsychiatry.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of face-to-face

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of face-to-face, face to face?

Translations of face-to-face

in Chinese (Traditional)

面對面（地）…

Meaning of face-to-face in English

face to face | Business English

Examples of face-to-face

Translations of face-to-face

Browse

Learn more with +Plus

Learn more with +Plus