Meanings
plural faceplants · alternative face-plant
- informalThe act of landing face first, as a result of an accident or error.
The skater slipped off his board and did a painful faceplant.
3 more examples
Only by catching himself with his poles had he avoided doing a face plant in the snow.
2005, Michael Thomas Ford, Looking For It, Kensington Publishing Corp., →ISBNMy cheek feels raw where Cherchette kissed me, like I did a face plant onto concrete.
2009, Sarah Cross, Dull Boy, Penguin, →ISBN2024 February 17, Sharon Adarlo, “AI Hiring Tools are Ignoring Qualified Candidates, Expert Says”https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-ignoring-qualified-candidates, The_Byte, futurism.com These kind of recruiting resources faceplants are likely to multiply as more businesses adopt these tools for the hiring process.
- video gamesDeath or defeat in a multiplayer online game.
- governmentA wrestling move in which an attacking wrestler forces an opponent down to the mat face-first without a headlock or facelock.
Synonyms: facebuster
present singular third person faceplants · participle present faceplanting · participle past faceplanted · past faceplanted · alternative face-plant
- informalintransitivetransitiveTo land face first.
Moments before she face-planted on the tile, his hands shot out and grabbed her, pulling her safely to his chest. She face-planted in the middle of his pecs instead.
2013, Micah Persell, Of Consuming Fire: Middle of the Garden, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN - informalintransitiveTo completely fumble or fail in an activity, usually in a spectacular fashion.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA wrestling move in which an attacking wrestler forces an opponent down to the mat face-first without a headlock or facelock.
Origin
From face + plant (“place, set firmly”). Originally skateboarding and snowboarding slang, a humorous variant of handplant, which is an intentional technique in these sports.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish mahalasku, kaatua naamalleen
- mahalaskuact of landing face first
- kaatua naamalleento land face first
- tehdä mahalaskuto land face first
French se planter la gueule, se péter la gueule
- se planter la gueuleto land face first
- se péter la gueuleto land face first
German Auf-die-Schnauze-Fliegen, Auf-die-Fresse-Fallen
- Auf-die-Schnauze-Fliegenact of landing face first
- Auf-die-Fresse-Fallenact of landing face first
- auf die Fresse fliegento land face first
- auf die Schnauze fallento land face first
Hungarian pofára esés, pofára esik
- pofára esésact of landing face first
- pofára esikto land face first
Russian паде́ние n лицом вниз, па́дать лицом вниз
- паде́ние n лицом вниз (licom)act of landing face first
- па́дать лицом вниз (licom)to land face first
- впечататься лицом (vpečatatʹsja licom)to land face first
Spanish plantación de rostro, plantío de pico
- plantación de rostroact of landing face first
- plantío de picoact of landing face first
- plantarse el rostroto land face first
- plantar picoto land face first
Cite this entry
faceplant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/faceplant
“faceplant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/faceplant. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “faceplant,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/faceplant.
Source: faceplant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.