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.
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.
Botany. a tuft or growth of awns or the like, as on wheat or barley.
a barb or catch on an arrow, fishhook, knitting needle, crochet needle, etc.
Also called bevel neck. Printing.
the sloping part of a type that connects the face with the shoulder of the body.
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.
the cross stroke on the stem of a capital G.
Slang. a romantic partner chosen to conceal a person's sexual orientation, especially that of a gay or lesbian person.
Charles Austin, 1874–1948, and his wife Mary, 1876–1958, U.S. historians.
Daniel Carter, 1850–1941, U.S. artist and naturalist: organized the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.
James Andrew, 1903–85, U.S. cooking teacher and food writer.
the hair growing on the lower parts of a man's face
any similar growth in animals
a tuft of long hairs in plants such as barley and wheat; awn
the gills of an oyster
a barb, as on an arrow or fish-hook
slang a woman who accompanies a homosexual man to give the impression that he is heterosexual
printing the part of a piece of type that connects the face with the shoulder
to oppose boldly or impertinently
to pull or grasp the beard of
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
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In an episode of “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” O’Brien, dressed as Freud in a wig, fake beard and suit, visits the Freud Museum in Austria.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
In his earliest appearances as Sam, Kani had to apply gray makeup to his beard and temples to be believable as the middle-aged employee.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
"He talks a good game but nothing ever changes," said David Gilhooly, 52, who had a long, thick beard and wore a heavy coat as the Canadian winter dragged into April.
From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026
The condition causes him to obsessively pluck his beard or eyebrows when anxious or bored.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
He was bald with a gray-black beard and wire-framed glasses.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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.
