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Glite Dictionary
clock face

clock face

1 2.1
A flat surface on a clock that shows the hours and minutes with numbers and hands
  • noun
  • /klɒk feɪs/
translation icon : esfera del reloj
  • The clock face showed that it was almost five o'clock.

Next, remove all clock faces from the bedroom.

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Examples

  • Stamp the clock face on an index card, laminate it for repeated use, and attach an hour and a minute hand.

    Academic text (2013)

  • He admired the intricate design of the antique clock face.

  • Guys, is the clock face of Big Ben slightly blue?

  • Remove all clock faces from your bedroom.

  • Several of the areas can be located like sections of a clock face.

    Blog text (10)

  • Abraj Al Bait is the world's largest clock face.

    Blog text (31)

  • Then she saw the lighted clock face on the bedside locker.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Early elementary grade classrooms or special education departments often have an analog clock face stamp.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Even though most of us grew up in a time when digital watches were the norm, learning how to read an analog clock face is a handy skill that would have been far easier to master.

    Blog text (24)

  • Three round objects rested, museum-style, on square white pillars: an ornate clock face, a gold-colored mask, and a head of fresh cabbage.

    Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

dial
vsclock face
49 1.8

A clock face that shows the time with hands or numbers

is narrower and refers only to the flat time display on traditional timepieces
clock dial
vsclock face
3.1

The face of a clock that shows the time with numbers and hands

is the same meaning but uses a different common phrase for the same surface

How Readable

clock face
1 2.1

Surface Forms

clock face singular
clock faces plural

Morphology

clock + face

The meaning is directly and transparently composed from 'clock' (timekeeping device) + 'face' (front or principal surface), referring to the front surface where numbers and hands are shown. This noun+noun compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows normal English compound semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Clock face comes from a simple picture: the flat front of a clock was called a face because it looks like a human face, with the hands pointing to numbers like arms. So, clock face means the front surface that 'shows the time'.