facepalm
/ˈfeɪs.pɑːm/
CommonA gesture of covering your face with your hand to express disbelief, frustration, or embarrassment.
Can be directed at yourself or others. Tone ranges from mild exasperation to genuine frustration.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | he printed the email and then emailed a photo of the printout. *facepalm* | Reacting to an obviously unnecessary extra step. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | asked where the meeting was and it was in the invite the whole time. facepalm moment. | Self-deprecating admission of missing something obvious. | |
| 03 | they launched the update and forgot to test it. hard facepalm. | Reacting to an avoidable mistake by someone else. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | just realized i've been saying the word wrong for 20 years. facepalm | Delayed realization of a long-standing error. | tiktok, 2024 |
Use it when
- Someone says or does something obvious they should have known.
- A situation is frustrating in a dumb or avoidable way.
- You're reacting to your own mistake.
- Something predictably goes wrong.
Do not use it when
- The failure is genuinely serious or harmful.
- You're angry rather than exasperated.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
The physical gesture predates the internet, but the term spread online in the early 2000s. The Picard facepalm image macro became one of the most widely shared reaction images of the 2010s.
- First seen
- early-2000s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/face-palmUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0