vis-à-vis: Meaning and Definition of

vis-à-vis

Pronunciation: (vē"zu-vē' Fr. vē-za-vē'), [key]
— adv., adj., prep., n., pl. -vis
—adv.
  1. face to face: They sat vis-à-vis at the table.
—adj.
  1. face-to-face: a vis-à-vis encounter.
  2. (of a coin) having two portraits facing each other.
—prep.
  1. in relation to; compared with: income vis-à-vis expenditures.
  2. facing; opposite: They were now vis-à-vis the most famous painting in the Louvre.
—n.
  1. a person face to face with or situated opposite to another: He offered a cigarette to his vis-à-vis.
  2. a date at a social affair: She introduced her vis-à-vis to the hostess.
  3. a person of equal authority, rank, or the like: my vis-à-vis in the Louisville office.
  4. a carriage in which the occupants sit face to face.
  5. tête-à-tête (def. 2).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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