face mask

or face·mask

noun

Sports. the protective equipment, usually made of steel or plastic, that guards the face, as the steel cage worn by a baseball catcher or the molded plastic covering worn by a hockey goalkeeper.
any of various similar devices to shield the face, sometimes attached to or forming part of a helmet, as that worn by workers engaged in a hazardous activity.

Origin of face mask

First recorded in 1905–10; face + mask

Words nearby face mask

face cloth, face down, face flies, face gear, face it, face mask, face out, face pack, face powder, face presentation, face recognition

Example sentences from the Web for face mask

  • Behind the face-mask, her thin features were pale, ghostlike.

    Shock Treatment |Stanley Mullen

  • Wang Kulichenko pulled the collar of his uniform coat up closer around his ears and pulled the helmet and face-mask down a bit.

    Anything You Can Do ... |Gordon Randall Garrett

  • The girl took the map in her gloved hands and peered intently through her face-mask.

    Shock Treatment |Stanley Mullen