From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishface off phrasal verb American Englishto fight, argue, or compete with someone, or to get into a position in which you are ready to do this The two candidates will face off in a televised debate on Friday. → face→ See Verb tableface-offˈface-off noun [countable] 1 informal especially American EnglishFIGHTARGUE a fight or argument a face-off between police and rioters2 DSOthe start of a game of ice hockey
Examples from the Corpus
face-off• The face-off between soldiers and demonstrators ended with hundreds being arrested.• Their face-off here was widely seen as a possible prelude to the presidential campaign in the year 2000.• Their face-off on July 1 was a disastrous retreat. 