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• barber
  barber

  noun

  a person whose occupation it is to cut and dress the hair of customers, especially men, and to shave or trim the beard.
• Barber
  Barber

  noun

  Samuel, 1910–81, U.S. composer.

barber

¹ American  

[bahr-ber] / ˈbɑr bər /

noun

barbers plural

1. a person whose occupation it is to cut and dress the hair of customers, especially men, and to shave or trim the beard.

2. frost smoke.

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verb (used with object)

barbers, present (3rd person singular) barbered, past participle, past barbering present participle

1. to trim or dress the hair or beard of.

Barber ² American  

[bahr-ber] / ˈbɑr bər /

noun

1. Samuel, 1910–81, U.S. composer.

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barber ¹ British  

/ ˈbɑːbə /

noun

1. a person whose business is cutting men's hair and shaving or trimming beards

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verb

1. to cut the hair of

2. to shave or trim the beard of

Barber ² British  

/ ˈbɑːbə /

noun

1. Samuel . 1910–81, US composer: his works include an Adagio for Strings , adapted from the second movement of his string quartet No. 1 (1936) and the opera Vanessa (1958)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbarbered
  adjective
• well-barbered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• barbers
  plural

Participles

• barbering
  present
• barbered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• barber
  simple
• barbers
  simple
• have barbered
  perfect
• has barbered
  perfect
• am barbering
  progressive
• are barbering
  progressive
• is barbering
  progressive
• have been barbering
  perfect progressive
• has been barbering
  perfect progressive

Past

• barbered
  simple
• had barbered
  perfect
• was barbering
  progressive
• were barbering
  progressive
• had been barbering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will barber
  simple
• will have barbered
  perfect
• will be barbering
  progressive
• will have been barbering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of barber

1275–1325; Middle English barbour < Anglo-French; Old French barbeor, equivalent to barb ( e ) (< Latin barba beard) + -eor < Latin -ātōr- -ator

Explanation

A barber is a person whose job is cutting hair in a barbershop. Your barber might have a tendency to cut your hair a little shorter than you like. When you visit a barbershop, you sit in a special chair while the barber cuts your hair with scissors or electric clippers. Men are the most common customers of a barber, although women can also get their hair cut by barbers. Barber comes from the Anglo-French word barbour, which is rooted in the Latin word for "beard," barb. Early barbers were certified not only to cut hair, but to perform surgery and dentistry as well.

Example Sentences

And BBC Culture's Nicholas Barber branded it "the year's most traumatic film - for parents".

From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026

Barber will be able to have her fun on the return journey, too.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

Another paper by Barber and Odean found that the average active investor reliably underperforms the broader market.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026

“Travel demand remains strong, and despite higher fuel prices, many people are prioritizing leisure travel during holiday breaks,” said Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

He was not half the man that Nute the Barber was, but the Crow’s Eye had stolen Nute.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin