face to face
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face to face
In direct contact, especially literally standing close together. I had been trying to avoid my math teacher, but then we came face to face in the cafeteria. Society is about to come face to face with a whole new set of problems brought on by technology. Get that thing out of here. The new CEO doesn't want people to come face to face with a cardboard cutout of him the second they walk in the building.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
face-to-face
1. . Fig. in person; in the same location. (Said only of people. An adverb.) Let's talk about this face-to-face. I don't like talking over the telephone. Many people prefer to talk face-to-face.
2. Fig. facing one another; in the same location. (Used as an attributive.) I prefer to have a face-to-face meeting. They work better on a face-to-face basis.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
face to face
1. In each other's presence, opposite one another; in direct communication. For example, The two chairmen sat face to face, or It's time his parents met the teacher face to face. [Mid-1300s]
2. Confronting each other, as in We were face to face with death during the avalanche. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
face to face
If you meet or talk to someone face to face, you meet or talk to them directly, with both of you in the same place. When I first heard of his death I didn't want to call her or meet her face to face. Now that he was face to face with the estate agent, Arnold found it difficult to explain. Note: A face-to-face meeting is one where people meet and can talk to each other directly. Yesterday saw the first face-to-face meeting between the heads of the Trade Union Confederation and the Employers' Association. Compare with come face to face with something. Compare with come face to face with someone.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
face to face
1 in direct personal contact. 2 in a position in which you must confront a difficulty.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
ˌface to ˈface (with somebody/something)
1 in the presence of somebody and close enough to meet, talk, see, etc. them: The two leaders came face to face for the first time in Moscow this morning. ♢ The programme brought Anna face to face with her father for the first time in her life. ♢ face-to-face discussions, negotiations, etc.
2 in a situation where you have to accept that something is true and deal with it: The crisis has brought her face to face with a lot of problems she had been trying not to think about.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
face to face
and F2F phr. & comp. abb. in person; speakers and listeners facing each other. (The full form is Standard English.) I need to CU F2F. She spoke to us face to face, and we felt better.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.