face vs flank

face

noun
  • The frontal aspect of something. 

  • 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 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). 

verb
  • 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 have the front in a certain direction. 

  • 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. 

flank

noun
  • The side of something, in general senses. 

  • The flesh between the last rib and the hip; the side. 

  • The sides of a bastion perpendicular to the wall from which the bastion projects. 

  • The outermost strip of a road. 

  • The wing, one side of the pitch. 

  • That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth that lies within the pitch line. 

  • A cut of meat from the flank of an animal. 

  • The extreme left or right edge of a military formation, army etc. 

verb
  • To be placed to the side(s) of something (usually in terms of two objects, one on each side). 

  • To defend the flank(s) of. 

  • To attack the flank(s) of. 

  • To place to the side(s) of. 

adj
  • Maximum. Historically faster than full speed (the most a vessel can sustain without excessive engine wear or risk of damage), now frequently used interchangeably. Typically used in an emergency or during an attack. 

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