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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/
: 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
23 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
1 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'.