face-off

See also: faceoff and face off

English

Alternative forms

• faceoff, face off

Etymology

1889, face +‎ off.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfeɪsˌɑf/

Noun

face-off (plural face-offs)

1. A confrontation or argument between two people or groups.

   It's unclear which side will win the latest face-off between the President and Congress.

   • 2012 May 31, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Review: Snow White And The Huntsman”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:

     Huntsman starts out with a vision of Theron that’s specific, unique, and weighted in character, but it trends throughout toward generic fantasy tropes and black-and-white morality, and climaxes in a thoroughly familiar face-off.

2. (ice hockey) The start of play, when two players try to get control of the puck dropped by the referee.
3. (field lacrosse) The start of play, when two players attempt to get possession of a ball placed on the ground between them by the referee.

Derived terms

• face-off circle

Translations

confrontation or argument between two people or groups

Azerbaijani: qarşıdurma Chinese: Mandarin: 對峙 / 对峙 (zh) (duìzhì), 對質 / 对质 (zh) (duìzhì) Japanese: 対決 (ja) (たいけつ, taiketsu) Russian: конфронта́ция (ru) f (konfrontácija), противостоя́ние (ru) n (protivostojánije), противобо́рство (ru) n (protivobórstvo) Spanish: enfrentamiento (es) m, afrontamiento (es) m

start of play in ice hockey etc.

Bulgarian: була (bg) f (bula) Czech: buly (cs) n, rozhoz m Finnish: aloitus (fi) Russian: вбрасывание (ru) n (vbrasyvanije) Swedish: tekning (sv) c