noun
-
a lover, sweetheart, or escort of a girl or woman
-
a man who is greatly concerned with his clothes and appearance; dandy
Other Word Forms
- beauish adjective
Etymology
Origin of beau
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from French, from Latin bellus “beautiful”
Explanation
A beau is an old-fashioned term for "boyfriend." When your great-grandmother was young, she probably had a beau. Beau means "handsome" in French. Pronounce it the same way the French do, with a long o: "boh." The word recalls more innocent times, when gentleman courted their ladies and skirts barely rose above ankle level. You'll hardly ever hear beau used today, unless you're watching a movie, play or television drama set in the past.
Vocabulary lists containing beau
Scrabble: Four-Letter Words with 3 Vowels
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The Glass Menagerie
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The Haunting of Hill House
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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.
When I ask for his American political beau ideal, he says Alexander Hamilton.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
Was this the last time the music megastar would grace the Kelce family luxury suite to watch her beau rack up the receptions?
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2025
Will’s beau idéal, Ronald Reagan, used it frequently on the rubber-chicken-and-peas circuit.
From Salon • Dec. 20, 2025
It was to be her first time in the pub and also the first time she met Dylan Thomas, a schoolfriend of her new beau.
From BBC • Dec. 14, 2024
During this visit Vincent will bring Theo to a party where they will see the Haanebeeks, including Caroline and her beau, and also her younger sister, Annet.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
