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
1 American
[bahr-ber]
/ ˈbɑr bər /
noun
-
barbers
plural
-
a person whose occupation it is to cut and dress the hair of customers, especially men, and to shave or trim the beard.
verb (used with object)
-
barbers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
barbered,
past participle, past
-
barbering
present participle
Barber
2
American
[bahr-ber]
/ ˈbɑr bər /
noun
barber
1
British
/ ˈbɑːbə /
noun
verb
-
to cut the hair of
-
to shave or trim the beard of
Barber
2
British
/ ˈbɑːbə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
barbersimple
-
barberssimple
-
have barberedperfect
-
has barberedperfect
-
am barberingprogressive
-
are barberingprogressive
-
is barberingprogressive
-
have been barberingperfect progressive
-
has been barberingperfect progressive
Past
-
barberedsimple
-
had barberedperfect
-
was barberingprogressive
-
were barberingprogressive
-
had been barberingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing barber
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:
On visits to his native Taiwan, Huang is received like a megastar, with fans crowding him for autographs and selfies as journalists follow him to the barber shop and his favorite night market.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026
McCoy is the all-too-rare barber who balances professionalism and empathy, tradition and innovation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
“The art it represents,” wrote Vincent Canby in the New York Times, “belongs to that school of very classy calendar art supported by airlines, insurance corporations and a few enlightened barber shops.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
"The barber chair is a very special place," he said.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
He’s not trying to look cool with the long hair; he just doesn’t care enough to make the trip to the barber.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
For Barber, this sometimes meant hundreds of dollars more in weekly expenses.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Barber and Sil caution that resurrected antimicrobial peptides are unlikely to become new medicines anytime soon.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
He cut hair at Joe’s Barber Shop in Inglewood when not traveling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
James Barber, from the disabled-led charity Transport for All, called it a "real win for disabled people" and "very welcome news".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Good,” said the King pleasantly, realising that he would be in time for the Barber, after all.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
Other barbers can be inconsistent from cut to cut, but are punctual and personable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Education experts said one possible response to such a scenario is for state legislatures that set licensing requirements to decide some occupations — like barbers and stylists — actually need less training.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
His daughter says the 57-year-old also has a touch of vanity, insisting on visiting Korean barbers whom he believed styled his hair the best.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
It also turns its gaze to those assigned to the lower rungs of the colonial social order - dancing girls, agricultural labourers, barbers and snake charmers.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Increasing himself head by head but not barbers.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Trees barbered to resemble incense pots and traditional Yemeni daggers.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 7, 2021
It’s a big American story that rolls across barbered lawns and then leaves you stranded in some all-night Sam’s Club of the soul.
From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2018
For now at least this England team can get on with presenting itself to the world, laid out in its splendid new-build sarcophagus, shaved and barbered, newly suited, eyes glazed with entropic reverie.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 12, 2012
Coaches who have barbered the rulebook like Edward Scissorhands look upon Calipari with a weird mixture of awe and disdain.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2010
Behind the gentlemen’s barbered heads, dark mahogany planks stand at attention.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Social media has been "massive" for the barbering industry, says dad-of-three Alsanawi, whose Instagram is filled with videos of him giving players including England vice-captain Declan Rice fresh trims.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Oasis Restore was hailed as a "revolution in youth justice", where young offenders were given one-on-one support and trained with workshops, such as catering and barbering.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2025
Mr Cox said he had "hope of my barber shop or my barbering tools etc being somewhat salvageable", but "the whole room has gone including everything in it".
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2023
He also took up prison barbering to make money.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
The snipping was only a kind of mental barbering, a limbering up.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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