From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsave facesave faceADMIREif you do something to save face, you do it so that people will not lose their respect for you Both countries saved face with the compromise. → face
Examples from the Corpus
save face• The important thing now was to let him save face.• Determined to save face, I kept devouring everything set before me.• The only person that didn't was Fish, who had to save face and went on claiming it was true.• Rather than admit defeat, Franklin compromised in order to save face.• As a result of the turmoil, Frank resigned in order to save face.• I had to do this to save face for my father.• Bosnia would survive as a constitutional fiction, allowing the world to save face.• By agreeing to the staged confrontation, Barnett would save face while permitting Meredith to register.save facesave faceEMBARRASSED#to do something that will stop you from looking stupid or feeling embarrassed A compromise must be found which will allow both sides in the dispute to save face. → face-saving → saveExamples from the Corpus
save face• As a result of the turmoil, Frank resigned in order to save face.• Bosnia would survive as a constitutional fiction, allowing the world to save face.• The important thing now was to let him save face.• The only person that didn't was Fish, who had to save face and went on claiming it was true.• I had to do this to save face for my father.• Determined to save face, I kept devouring everything set before me.• By agreeing to the staged confrontation, Barnett would save face while permitting Meredith to register. 