back vs face

back

verb
  • To adjoin behind; to be at the back of. 

  • To go in the reverse direction. 

  • To lay out a second, smaller anchor to provide additional holding power. 

  • To push or force backwards. 

  • To support. 

  • To stand still behind another dog which has pointed. 

  • To brace the yards so that the wind presses on the front of the sail, to slow the ship. 

  • To change direction contrary to the normal pattern; that is, to shift anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere, or clockwise in the southern hemisphere. 

  • To make a back for; to furnish with a back. 

  • To write upon the back of, possibly as an endorsement. 

  • To sign or endorse (a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender). 

  • To draw from behind the back [+accusative = a knife etc.] (as also back out). 

  • To row backward with (oars). 

  • To carry an infant on one's back. 

adv
  • In a direction opposite to the usual or desired direction of movement or progress, physically or figuratively. 

  • So as to reverse direction and return. 

  • Away from someone or something; at a distance. 

  • Away from the front or from an edge. 

  • In a manner that impedes. 

  • In a reciprocal manner; in return. 

  • So as shrink, recede or move aside, or cause to do so. 

  • To a later point in time. See also put back. 

  • Towards, into or in the past. 

  • To or in a previous condition or place. 

  • Earlier, ago. 

  • In a direction opposite to that in which someone or something is facing or normally pointing. 

noun
  • Effort, usually physical. 

  • The reverse side; the side that is not normally seen. 

  • The keel and keelson of a ship. 

  • A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc. 

  • The part of something that goes last. 

  • The spine and associated tissues. 

  • The backrest, the part of a piece of furniture which receives the human back. 

  • A ferryboat. 

  • The roof of a horizontal underground passage. 

  • Large and attractive buttocks. 

  • The inside margin of a page. 

  • The edge of a book which is bound. 

  • In some team sports, a position behind most players on the team. 

  • A support or resource in reserve. 

  • The rear of the body, especially the part between the neck and the end of the spine and opposite the chest and belly. 

  • A non-alcoholic drink (often water or a soft drink), to go with hard liquor or a cocktail. 

  • Among leather dealers, one of the thickest and stoutest tanned hides. 

  • Area behind, such as the backyard of a house. 

  • The side of a blade opposite the side used for cutting. 

  • The side of any object which is opposite the front or useful side. 

  • That which is farthest away from the front. 

  • The part of a piece of clothing which covers the back. 

  • Upper part of a natural object which is considered to resemble an animal's back. 

postp
  • Before now; ago. 

adj
  • Pronounced with the highest part of the body of the tongue toward the back of the mouth, near the soft palate (most often describing a vowel). 

  • Not current. 

  • Situated away from the main or most frequented areas. 

  • At or near the rear. 

  • Returned or restored to a previous place or condition. 

  • Moving or operating backward. 

  • In arrears; overdue. 

face

verb
  • To have the front in a certain direction. 

  • To make the surface of (anything) flat or smooth; to dress the face of (a stone, a casting, etc.); especially, in turning, to shape or smooth the flat (transverse) surface of, as distinguished from the cylindrical (axial) surface. 

  • To arrange the products in (a store) so that they are tidy and attractive. 

  • To be presented or confronted with; to have in prospect. 

  • To deal with (a difficult situation or person); to accept (facts, reality, etc.) even when undesirable. 

  • To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction. 

  • To have as an opponent. 

  • To position oneself or itself so as to have one's face closest to (something). 

  • To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else). 

  • To be the batsman on strike. 

  • To line near the edge, especially with a different material. 

  • To cover in front, for ornament, protection, etc.; to put a facing upon. 

  • To cover with better, or better appearing, material than the mass consists of, for purpose of deception, as the surface of a box of tea, a barrel of sugar, etc. 

noun
  • A person; the self; (reflexively, objectifying) oneself. 

  • The front part of the head of a human or other animal, featuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the surrounding area. 

  • A headlining wrestler with a persona embodying heroic or virtuous traits and who is regarded as a "good guy", especially one who is handsome and well-conditioned; a baby face. 

  • The width of a pulley, or the length of a cog from end to end. 

  • The mouth. 

  • The side of the card that shows its value (as opposed to the back side, which looks the same on all cards of the deck). 

  • One's facial expression. 

  • A distorted facial expression; an expression of displeasure, insult, etc. 

  • A familiar or well-known person; a member of a particular scene, such as the music or fashion scene. 

  • The front surface of a bat. 

  • The amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, etc., without any interest or discount; face value. 

  • Shameless confidence; boldness; effrontery. 

  • Any surface, especially a front or outer one. 

  • The frontal aspect of something. 

  • The numbered dial of a clock or watch; the clock face. 

  • The part of a golf club that hits the ball. 

  • Public image; outward appearance. 

  • Presence; sight; front. 

  • An aspect of the character or nature of someone or something. 

  • Any of the flat bounding surfaces of a polyhedron; more generally, any of the bounding pieces of a polytope of any dimension. 

  • The directed force of something. 

  • Makeup; one's complete facial cosmetic application. 

  • The head of a lion, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears. 

  • A typeface. 

  • A mode of regard, whether favourable or unfavourable; favour or anger. 

  • Good reputation; standing, in the eyes of others; dignity; prestige. (See lose face, save face). 

How often have the words back and face occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )