beard
noun
a thick growth of hair on the face, especially on an adult man, often including a mustache.
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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
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bearding
present participle
verb (used without object)
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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
Nothing ages a man more efficiently than a white beard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He trimmed and groomed his beard, and made sure his short hair was neatly cut.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some people were crazy about how he had a beard and said that he was in a sleeper cell and all this stuff.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
A first-generation Norwegian American, Lars Kristiansen looked like a real-life Paul Bunyan, complete with blue jeans, a red plaid shirt, and a bushy brown beard.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Michael Monahan will substitute for Beard for the remainder of the Big One, which will conclude its U.S. run on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
High-profile British historian Mary Beard was similarly unconvinced, though like Wilson she welcomed the interest in Homer.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
After getting a pep talk from Ted Lasso and his assistant coach Beard, Bieber changed the pace of the otherwise energetic performances with an acoustic guitar version of 'Everything Hallelujah'.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Beard: I was telling my sister that I really liked “Lizzie McGuire” because it was one of the first times I saw somebody’s inner dialogue acted out in cartoon form.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
“Have fun with the sharks,” Square Glasses said to Chicken before walking away with Blond Beard.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
About 20 aid workers were arrested in June near the Iran border in Herat province by Afghanistan's morality police, because their beards were not long enough.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 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
Last month, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said it was now "obligatory" to grow beards longer than a fist, doubling down on an earlier order.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
I pictured guys with beards and eye patches and peg legs.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
Other entrants include a trans woman named Ashley Webb and a gloriously bearded Marine vet.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
The nation now openly mocks the bearded guerrillas, including Fidel Castro, and their generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
In Irvington, N.Y., outside the town hall, a heavily bearded figure lies beneath a beech tree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
The site is home to bird species including bearded tit, avocet, redshank and lapwing.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
He stuffs his tzitzit into his waistband, puts his curls under his flat cap and tucks his bearded chin into his coat collar.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
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
One can only imagine what Mr. Beale might have done with the character if the script had been more daring in bearding Stalin in his innermost lair.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2012
Through a popular book and a starring role on IFC’s “Whisker Wars,” a seven-episode documentary series, Jack Passion, 28, has become the bushy face of the bearding game.
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.
