beau

[ boh ]
See synonyms for beau on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural beaus [bohz], /boʊz/, beaux [bohz; French boh]. /boʊz; French boʊ/.
  1. a male lover or sweetheart.

  2. a frequent and attentive male escort for a girl or woman.

  1. a dandy; fop.

verb (used with object)
  1. to escort (a girl or woman), as to a social gathering.

Origin of beau

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from French, from Latin bellus “beautiful”

Other words for beau

Other words from beau

  • beauish, adjective

Words that may be confused with beau

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use beau in a sentence

  • Upon the dawn of smooth manners in France, the beaus cut the beards into shapes, and curled the whiskers.

  • She had heard the young girls went out every day to see the stores and catch the beaus as they came home from work.

    Helen Grant's Schooldays | Amanda M. Douglas
  • Don't make up in emulation of their beauty; don't seek to win away their beaus and outdress them.

  • How almost infinitely above "beaus and dresses" was such intellectual work as this!

    Lives of Girls Who Became Famous | Sarah Knowles Bolton
  • I assure you, I know very considerable beaus that set a good face upon fifty.

    Love for Love | William Congreve

British Dictionary definitions for beau

beau

/ (bəʊ) /


nounplural beaux (bəʊ, bəʊz) or beaus (bəʊz)
  1. a lover, sweetheart, or escort of a girl or woman

  2. a man who is greatly concerned with his clothes and appearance; dandy

Origin of beau

1
C17: from French, from Old French biau, from Latin bellus handsome, charming

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012