barber

¹ American  

[bahr-ber] / ˈbɑr bər /

noun

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)

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

• unbarbered adjective
• well-barbered adjective

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

Example Sentences

It ran in the barber shop and streaked up one side of the chair where Mr. Perry was shaving someone.

From Literature

He also got a haircut at a barbers in a township in the capital, Lusaka - to the delight of thousands of people who flocked there as news spread on social media.

From BBC

That’s one reason I often set books in fictional towns — if I put a coffee shop where there’s really a barber shop, local readers notice, and I want everyone fully immersed.

From Salon

“I could not catch the pronunciation. I believe that is the barber you heard about, too. The name sounded from Italy or Corsica, I believe.”

From Literature

This raises a new risk for Midland, where restaurants are already less crowded, barbers are idling around waiting for customers and a host of businesses linked to the oil field are feeling squeezed.

From The Wall Street Journal