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:
For present-day scenes, Offerman sports his own beard, with some color added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Exhibit A: Wolf Blitzer, whose white beard has bestowed the gift of perpetual old age on him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
His once thick black hair has greyed and thinned, much like his trademark beard.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
He trimmed and groomed his beard, and made sure his short hair was neatly cut.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Jack’s grandfather was covered in three or four layers of different-colored clothing, while his long white beard poked out from his shirt in several places.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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
Frank Beard, the longtime drummer of American rock-blues group ZZ Top, has died at the age of 77, the band and their publicist announced Tuesday.
From Barron's ● 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
ZZ Top's lead singer Billy Gibbons paid tribute to Beard as a "great friend and collaborator."
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Blond Beard kept his eyes locked on his phone, but Square Glasses smiled.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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
In a theatrical touch, around two dozen soldiers wearing historic-style suits of armour, pointed helmets and what appeared to be fake beards and moustaches stood outside the palace itself.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
In the frosty air, with their starchy beards and extravagant ear tufts, they looked magisterial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
“A lot of wigs, costumes, beards — fake beards,” David said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
I was a child of fourteen, while he and Willem were already university men, sprouting straggly beards and breathing out cigar smoke with their conversation.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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
He detested beards, thought them all fakes—his bearded Georgian father had died in 1937.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Other entrants include a trans woman named Ashley Webb and a gloriously bearded Marine vet.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
The site is home to bird species including bearded tit, avocet, redshank and lapwing.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
A bearded DJ with a shaved head is set up in a corner with a laptop that has colorful stickers all over it and a set of jumbo speakers.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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.
