beard
noun
a thick growth of hair on the face, especially on an adult man, often including a mustache.
beard
1 American
[beerd]
/ bɪərd /
noun
-
beards
plural
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a thick growth of hair on the face, especially on an adult man, often including a mustache.
He's been growing out his beard for a couple of months, and it's filling in nicely.
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Zoology. a tuft, growth, or part resembling or suggesting the thick growth of hair on the human face, such as the tuft of long hairs on the lower jaw of a goat or the cluster of hairlike feathers at the base of the bill in certain birds.
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Botany. a tuft or growth of awns or the like, as on wheat or barley.
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a barb or catch on an arrow, fishhook, knitting needle, crochet needle, etc.
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Also called bevel neck. Printing.
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the sloping part of a type that connects the face with the shoulder of the body.
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British. the space on a type between the bottom of the face of an x-high character and the edge of the body, comprising both beard and shoulder.
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the cross stroke on the stem of a capital G.
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Slang. a romantic partner chosen to conceal a person's sexual orientation, especially that of a gay or lesbian person.
verb (used with object)
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beards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bearded,
past participle, past
-
bearding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
beards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bearded,
past participle, past
-
bearding
present participle
Beard
2
American
[beerd]
/ bɪərd /
noun
-
Charles Austin, 1874–1948, and his wife Mary, 1876–1958, U.S. historians.
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Daniel Carter, 1850–1941, U.S. artist and naturalist: organized the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.
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James Andrew, 1903–85, U.S. cooking teacher and food writer.
beard
British
/ bɪəd /
noun
-
the hair growing on the lower parts of a man's face
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any similar growth in animals
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a tuft of long hairs in plants such as barley and wheat; awn
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the gills of an oyster
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a barb, as on an arrow or fish-hook
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slang a woman who accompanies a homosexual man to give the impression that he is heterosexual
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printing the part of a piece of type that connects the face with the shoulder
verb
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to oppose boldly or impertinently
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to pull or grasp the beard of
beard
Scientific
/ bîrd /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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beardsimple
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beardssimple
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have beardedperfect
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has beardedperfect
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am beardingprogressive
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are beardingprogressive
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is beardingprogressive
-
have been beardingperfect progressive
-
has been beardingperfect progressive
Past
-
beardedsimple
-
had beardedperfect
-
was beardingprogressive
-
were beardingprogressive
-
had been beardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of beard
First recorded before 900; Middle English berd, Old English beard; cognate with Dutch baard, German Bart, Late Latin Langobardi “Long-beards (name of the Lombards),” Crimean Gothic bars; akin to Latin barba, Lithuanian barzdà, Old Church Slavonic brada, Russian borodá
Explanation
A beard is the facial hair on a person's chin and cheeks. Santa Claus is famous in part for his long, white beard. You're most likely to see a beard on an adult man, although some women grow enough facial hair to sport a beard too. Some animals, like goats, have beards as well. Someone whose presence helps another person disguise his identity — maybe because he's a spy — is often informally called a beard as well.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The 19-year-old, sporting a budding beard, usually operates from home, filling lulls by watching the TV show Criminal Minds or honing his drone-flying skills on a simulator.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Yet in the modern era, no American president has gone about in mustache or beard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He trimmed and groomed his beard, and made sure his short hair was neatly cut.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
His hair, previously dyed jet black, had gone entirely silver and his thick mustache had been replaced by a scruffy beard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
His bright orange beard is unkempt and hangs halfway down his chest.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Belinda Chang, a James Beard Award-winning sommelier in Chicago, said she has been approached by business school students and financial executives to lead workshops on how to navigate wine lists in corporate settings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
ZZ Top's lead singer Billy Gibbons paid tribute to Beard as a "great friend and collaborator."
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
In March 2025, the Texas trio also shared that Beard would temporarily step away from the band’s Elevation tour to address a separate health issue, later revealed to be foot and ankle problems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
ZZ Top was founded in 1969 and the trio - Beard, Billy Gibbons and the late Dusty Hill - played their first live concert the following year.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Square Glasses seemed okay, and Blond Beard was neutral, still focused on his phone.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
I certainly haven’t noticed that modern television is overflowing with strapping, brawny men, some sporting magnificent beards or manly manes on their heads, atop bodies as smooth as Barbie dolls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
I wasn’t surprised to learn the two men were close friends; they even look alike, with their long white beards and sparkling eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
“A lot of wigs, costumes, beards — fake beards,” David said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
Last month, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said it was now "obligatory" to grow beards longer than a fist, doubling down on an earlier order.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
All the men in my family had long beards.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Hidden in the basement of a supermarket, the thick smell of sweat hangs heavy in the air as she pushes weights alongside bearded muscle-men.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Other entrants include a trans woman named Ashley Webb and a gloriously bearded Marine vet.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
The nation now openly mocks the bearded guerrillas, including Fidel Castro, and their generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
The site is home to bird species including bearded tit, avocet, redshank and lapwing.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
A few minutes later, an angry little bearded man in a green suit is brought in.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Some say this bearding trend began with the 1980s television series “Miami Vice,” wherein the actor Don Johnson sported a 5-o’clock shadow that was much commented on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
There’s talk of bearding dragons in their den and of forthcoming battles, plus a rather lovely foray into a deep cave system.
From The Guardian ● May 11, 2016
Indeed, a pop star and a bearding champion had walked into a bar.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2011
John Buckler, 31, from Lansing, Mich., likened the bearding community to a social club.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2011
The grey moss grew thickly here, covering the fallen stones in great mounds and bearding all the towers.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
