Meaning & use
face lift
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A medical operation that tightens the skin of the face to make someone look younger.
Grammar: Countable noun: you can say 'a face lift' or 'two face lifts'.
Patterns
- have a face lift
- give someone a face lift
She decided to have a face lift for her sixtieth birthday.
The actress denied having had a face lift.
Face lifts are becoming safer and less invasive.
nouncountablefigurative
A set of changes made to improve the appearance or condition of a building, room, or organization.
Grammar: Often used figuratively; countable, so you can say 'a face lift' or 'several face lifts'.
Patterns
- give something a face lift
- a face lift for something
The old hotel was given a face lift with new paint and furniture.
The company needs a face lift to attract younger customers.
The city plans a face lift for the main shopping street.
Word forms
| plural | face lifts |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a face lift
- She had a face lift last year.
- give something a face lift
- They gave the restaurant a face lift.
- a major face lift
- The stadium underwent a major face lift.
- face lift surgery
- Face lift surgery can be expensive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rhytidectomy
- The technical medical term for a face lift; used only by doctors and in medical contexts.
- makeover
- More general and often used for improvements to appearance or style; it does not involve surgery.
Word family
- facelift noun
- Alternative spelling, especially for the figurative sense.
Commonly confused: face lift or face-lift?
face lift vs face-lift
The hyphenated spelling is less common than 'face lift' or 'facelift'.
Practice
The old library was given a face lift. What does this mean?
Choose one answer.
In this figurative sense, a face lift means improvements that make something look better or more modern. It does not mean the building was demolished or moved.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “face lift”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.