a person whose occupation it is to cut and dress the hair of customers, especially men, and to shave or trim the beard.
to cut the hair of
to shave or trim the beard of
1275–1325; Middle English barbour < Anglo-French; Old French barbeor, equivalent to barb ( e ) (< Latin barba beard) + -eor < Latin -ātōr- -ator
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jacob Cintrón, a barber and photographer in Knoxville, Tenn., works four days while his wife, Anna, 30, a nurse, works two.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
The promise is that rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops will face thousands of raids.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Whether you need a meal or a mechanic, balloons or even a barber, Hanoi's busy pavements could always oblige.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Around Angel’s old barber chair, just about every inch of wall space is occupied by proclamations and photos.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
“Four pence,” said the barber, beginning to pass a black cloth in and out of the, hot water.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
