face-off
noun
Simple meaning
The start of play, when two players try to get control of the puck dropped by the referee.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
faysawfSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfeɪˈsɔf
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A confrontation or argument between two people or groups.
ice hockey
The start of play, when two players try to get control of the puck dropped by the referee.
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.
Word at a Glance
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (ice hockey) The start of play, when two players try to get control of the puck dropped by the referee.
Used this way, face-off is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a sporting use: familiar to anyone who follows the game, and puzzling to anyone who does not.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Sports
- News/reporting
- Everyday conversation
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.