goatee
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of goatee
1835–45, goat (from its resemblance to a goat's tufted chin) + -ee, probably as spelling variant of -y 2, -ie, though stressed as if formed with -ee
Explanation
A goatee is a narrow beard. If your uncle shaves his cheeks and the sides of his chin, leaving just a strip of hair under his mouth, you can compliment him on his goatee. Some facial hair purists say that it's only a goatee if there's no mustache involved — the combination of a narrow beard and mustache can also be called a "Van Dyke." Others are fine with describing any beard that doesn't extend fully across the face from ear to ear as a goatee. This term comes from the tufted beards that many goats have, and it was originally known as a goaty.
Vocabulary lists containing goatee
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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Measuring Up
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Saint Louis Armstrong Beach
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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.
Anyone who remembers Alexi Lalas from his playing days remembers the unruly shoulder-length red hair, thin headband and bushy goatee.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2024
Barrel-chested and with a neatly trimmed goatee, Beyer is in his late 50s but looks younger.
From Salon • May 22, 2024
"I'm trying to grow a goatee to cover it," he says.
From BBC • May 21, 2024
A woman in a pink shirt and a man with a blond goatee stood and shouted “point of order” and “point of privilege” repeatedly.
From Slate • May 6, 2024
He was thirtyish, tan and wide-shouldered, with a strong jaw and a dark, close-cropped goatee.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
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.
