Word.ws English Dictionary

in someone's face

in someone's face prepositional phrase: onto or into someone's face.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (literally) Onto or into someone's face.
    • Who would want to sit next to Larry, the guy who's too dumb not to blow his cigar smoke in your face?
    • And why do you and all men regard or reward a loving thankful, obedient child, more than one that will scorn you and spit in your face?1675, Richard Baxter, Richard Baxter's Catholick Theologie: Plain, Pure, Peaceable: for Pacification of the Dogmatic Word-Warriours..., page 226
  2. (idiomatic) In front of someone's face; before someone's eyes.
    • The people on the beach blanket near ours were fine until they started changing into their swimsuits right in our faces.
    • This hypocrite will laugh in your face, and cut your throat...1658, Samuel Crook, Christopher Barker, William Garrett, Ta diapheronta, or, Divine characters: in two parts..., page 70

Words formed from in someone's face

Questions about in someone's face

What does in someone's face mean?
In someone's face means onto or into someone's face.
What part of speech is in someone's face?
In someone's face is a prepositional phrase.

Words near in someone's face in the dictionary

  1. in someone's boots
  2. in someone's corner
  3. in someone's day
  4. in someone's debt
  5. in someone's eyes
  6. in someone's face
  7. in someone's light
  8. in someone's pocket
  9. in someone's shoes
  10. in someone's time
  11. in someone's view

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in someone's face (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-in one's face.ogg.

Cite this entry: “in someone's face.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in_someone%27s_face. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.