What does "about-face" mean?

An abrupt turn to face the opposite direction.

How do you pronounce "about-face"?

Pronounced //əˈbaʊtˌfeɪs//.

Common synonyms include: about turn, about-turn, accommodation, adaptation, adjustment, afterthought.

//əˈbaʊtˌfeɪs// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
An abrupt turn to face the opposite direction.
"The soldier did an about-face and marched off."
2
a major change in attitude or principle or point of view wordnet
3
A reversal in direction; a reversal of attitude or opinion. figuratively
"When Luke heard the news, he did an abrupt about-face on the policy."
4
act of pivoting 180 degrees, especially in a military formation wordnet

Verb

1
To turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction. intransitive
"The soldiers would about-face immediately after the order was given."
2
change one's mind and assume the opposite viewpoint wordnet
3
To change opinion or attitude drastically.
"A politician will about-face at the drop of a hat if he thinks there are votes in it."
4
turn, usually 180 degrees wordnet

"The soldier did an about-face and marched off."

From about + face, first attested in 1861, used in the imperative in the military.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.