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

My neighborhood barber, who quietly says “Bismillah,” meaning “in the name of God,” before putting the buzzer to my head, is keenly aware of this.

From The Wall Street Journal

Even for the first day, he was almost suspiciously well barbered.

From Literature

Inside, the barber was shaving a man reclined in his chair.

From Literature

Business has been down over the past year, but the past week was especially slow, said barber Leena Nguyen, who has worked there for 26 years.

From Los Angeles Times

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