face-to-face

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.

See also: face, to

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.