bevel
Americannoun
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bevels
plural
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the inclination that one line or surface makes with another when not at right angles.
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a surface that does not form a right angle with adjacent surfaces.
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(of a lock bolt) the oblique end that hits the strike plate.
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(of a lock with a beveled bolt) the side facing in the same direction as the bevel at the end of the bolt.
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an adjustable instrument for drawing angles or adjusting the surface of work to a particular inclination.
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Printing. beard.
verb (used with or without object)
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bevels,
present (3rd person singular)
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beveled,
past participle, past
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bevelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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beveling,
present participle
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bevelling
present participle (especially British)
adjective
noun
verb
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(intr) to be inclined; slope
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(tr) to cut a bevel on (a piece of timber, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bevelsimple
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bevelssimple
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have beveledperfect
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have bevelledperfect
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has beveledperfect
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has bevelledperfect
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am bevelingprogressive
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am bevellingprogressive
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are bevelingprogressive
-
are bevellingprogressive
-
is bevelingprogressive
-
is bevellingprogressive
-
have been bevelingperfect progressive
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have been bevellingperfect progressive
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has been bevelingperfect progressive
-
has been bevellingperfect progressive
Past
-
beveledsimple
-
bevelledsimple
-
had beveledperfect
-
had bevelledperfect
-
was bevelingprogressive
-
was bevellingprogressive
-
were bevelingprogressive
-
were bevellingprogressive
-
had been bevelingperfect progressive
-
had been bevellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bevel
First recorded in 1555–65; from unattested Middle French bevel ( French béveau, biveau ), unattested Old French baivel, equivalent to baïf “with open mouth” ( ba(er) “to gape” ( see bay 2) + -if adjective suffix) + -el, from Latin -ellus noun suffix; see -ive, -elle
Vocabulary lists containing bevel
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:
To bear up under the higher stress, the PDK’s clutches, gearsets and bevel gear have all been reinforced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Often, the city’s answer is a temporary bevel and shim fix — either grinding down edges on cracked sidewalks or adding a small amount of asphalt to bridge the gaps.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
According to Adidas, the Weagle design on the front of the sweater features a “combination of sublimation and classic twill embroidery,” producing a bevel effect.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2023
Even when I'm cutting a pumpkin, I will cut a little bevel on the bottom, just cut a little edge off, and now it is solid on the board.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2022
In addition to this bevel, however, there may be employed two vertical bevels c in the top view in Fig.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose
The aim was realism in the inflatables’ corners and bevels but with distortion and accentuation in certain curves.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
Staircases that had simple bevels and architecture give way to columbines, lotuses and other ornate features carved into the walnut and mahogany.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 20, 2020
Use a chop saw to put 45-degree bevels at the corners and screw the box together using exterior trimhead wood screws that are 2.5 or 3 inches long.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 29, 2020
It in fact produces what Chef’sChoice calls a Gothic Arch Edge, which consists of three distinct bevels, the final one at 15 degrees.
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2018
If the bevels do not meet at the widest point the tool will not clear, and the sides will rub against the revolving stock; the tool will be burned and will thus lose its temper.
From A Course In Wood Turning by Archie S. Milton
Their beveled corners are polished to a high glossy sheen, which creates slender vertical stripes that contrast sharply with the charcoal shadows from which they emerge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
Do you want to know if someone needs a changing table topper with beveled sides, preferably before Friday?
From Slate ● Jan. 11, 2025
A St. Patrick’s Day decoration hung on the other side of the beveled glass door as I buzzed the receptionist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
For his own home, Erlich chose crisp geometric pavers with tight beveled edges, and used sand to discourage weed growth.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
As he talks, I shed layers, tossing stuff onto the marble table below the big beveled mirror.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
He has also acted in theatre and on screen, busked, potted, bevelled glass, made music and made people laugh - he's about to cameo in TV series Black Comedy, which showcases indigenous sketches.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2019
After the second set of microelectrodes was implanted, the excised portion of Scheuermann’s skull was returned—though it was bevelled at the seams to allow the wires to pass through to the pedestals.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 19, 2018
"The cause is Ozymandian The map of Sapokanikan Is sanded and bevelled The land lone and levelled By some unrecorded and powerful hand Which plays along the monument And drums upon a plastic bag"
From The Verge ● Oct. 23, 2015
Staff would deliver trays of prototype phones for him to inspect and pore over, spinning them to check for balance and running his fingers across the bevelled edges and joints.
From Reuters ● Aug. 20, 2013
Another example of the use of a bevelled scraper is shown in Fig.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose
“I wanted to keep the planters very linear, without any beveling on the edges, and that informed my material choice,” she says.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
Plywood is made from layers of compressed sheets, which the beveling reveals at the sides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2016
We settled on a sculptural stylized version and this sketch shows a study in variations on the amount of beveling and possible finishes.
From Time ● Mar. 4, 2015
How many centuries of cutting and gouging, beveling and grooving were required to accomplish this, who can tell?
A beveled joint is made by beveling the members so that the plane of the joint bisects the angle at which the members meet.
From Handwork in Wood by William Noyes
He soon invented a machine for bevelling hoop-rings, and made five thousand dollars the first year from its use.
From Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous by Sarah K. Bolton
An instrument by which bevelling angles are taken.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher
When in situ it is accommodated by the Cutigeral Groove, a cavity produced by the bevelling out of the superior portion of the inner face of the wall of the hoof.
From Diseases of the Horse's Foot by Harry Caulton Reeks
The preventive treatment is the bevelling, or rounding off of the inside edge or rim of the hind shoes.
This may, however, be remedied to a great extent by bevelling off the ends from the outside as shown in Fig.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose
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.
