Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - face

 I. noun  Usage: often attributive  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *facia, from Latin facies make, form, ~, from ~re to make, do — more at do  Date: 13th century  1.  a. the front part of the head that in humans extends from the forehead to the chin and includes the mouth, nose, cheeks, and eyes  b. the ~ as a means of identification ; countenance would know that ~ anywhere  2. archaic presence, sight  3.  a. facial expression a friendly ~  b. a facial expression of distaste or displeasure he made a ~ when he saw the test results  c. makeup 3a(1)  4.  a.  (1) outward appearance put a good ~ on it  (2) the aspect of something that is perceptible or obvious upon superficial examination the theory is absurd on its ~ — Kim Neely  b. disguise, pretense  c.  (1) assurance, confidence maintaining a firm ~ in spite of adversity  (2) effrontery how anyone could have the ~ to ask that question  d. dignity, prestige afraid to lose ~  5. sur~:  a.  (1) a front, upper, or outer sur~  (2) the front of something having two or four sides  (3) facade  (4) an exposed sur~ of rock  (5) any of the plane sur~s that bound a geometric solid  b. a sur~ specially prepared: as  (1) the principal dressed sur~ (as of a disk)  (2) the right side (as of cloth or leather)  (3) an inscribed, printed, or marked side  c. a striking sur~ (as of a tool) the ~ of the golf club the ~ of an anvil  d.  (1) the sur~ (as of type) that receives the ink and transfers it to the paper  (2) a style of type  6. the end or wall of a mine tunnel, drift, or excavation at which work is progressing  7. ~ value  8. person lots of new ~s around here  II. verb  (~d; facing)  Date: 15th century  transitive verb  1. to confront impudently  2.  a. to line near the edge especially with a different material  b. to cover the front or sur~ of ~d the building with marble  3. to meet ~-to-~ or in competition  4.  a. to stand or sit with the ~ toward  b. to have the front oriented toward a house facing the park  5.  a. to recognize and deal with straightforwardly ~ the facts  b. to master by confronting with determination — used with down ~d down his critics  6.  a. to have as a prospect ; be confronted by ~ a grim future  b. to be a prospect or a source of concern for the problems that ~ us  c. to bring ~-to-~ he was ~d with ruin  7. to make the sur~ of (as a stone) flat or smooth  8. to cause (troops) to ~ in a particular direction on command  intransitive verb  1. to have the ~ or front turned in a specified direction  2. to turn the ~ in a specified direction