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facet

fac·et/ˈfæs.ɪt/noun, verb

facet is spelled F-A-C-E-T: 5 letters and 2 syllables (fac·et). It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, facet means “Any one of the flat surfaces cut into a gem” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of facet is facets.

How many letters and syllables are in facet?

Letters5: F-A-C-E-T
Syllables2: fac·et
In writing1.5 times per million words; the 22,965th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is facet?

Facet appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,965th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce facet?

  • US /ˈfæs.ɪt/
  • UK /ˈfas.ɪt/
  • /ˈfɛs.ət/

Facet has 2 syllables, split fac·et in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-facet.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of facet

  • facets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • faceting US, participle, present
  • facetting UK, participle, present
  • faceted US, participle, past
  • facetted UK, participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does facet mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Any one of the flat surfaces cut into a gem.

    This facet of the diamond was masterfully cut to enhance its value.

  2. 2

    One among many similar or related, yet still distinct things.

    The child's learning disability was only one facet of the problems contributing to his delinquency.

  3. 3

    One of a series of things, such as steps in a project.

    We had just about completed the research facet of the project when the order came to cancel it.

  4. 4

    One member of a compound eye, as found in insects and crustaceans.

  5. 5

    A smooth circumscribed surface.

    the articular facet of a bone

  6. 6

    Any of the small joints at each segment of the spine that provide stability and help guide motion

  7. 7

    The narrow plane surface between flutings of a column; a fillet.

  8. 8

    A face of codimension 1 of a polytope.

verb

  1. 1

    To cut a facet into a gemstone.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Facet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchfacette (any one of the flat surfaces cut into a gem), volet (one of a series of things, such as steps in a…), ommatidie (anatomy: one member of a compound eye, as found…), facetter (to cut a facet into a gemstone)
GermanFacette (any one of the flat surfaces cut into a gem)
Portuguesefaceta (any one of the flat surfaces cut into a gem), facetar, lapidar (to cut a facet into a gemstone)
Spanishfaceta (any one of the flat surfaces cut into a gem), omatidio (anatomy: one member of a compound eye, as found…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does facet come from?

Borrowed from French facette.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after facet