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.
Kelly Hall had a long goatee and was wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “Government Watch List” when he went to vote on Tuesday.
From Slate • May 20, 2026
With his wispy goatee beard and baby-faced features, he looks even younger than he is.
From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025
“It’s like trafficopolypse or something … car mania,” said one Dodger fan sporting a dyed-blue goatee.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2024
Barrel-chested and with a neatly trimmed goatee, Beyer is in his late 50s but looks younger.
From Salon • May 22, 2024
I loved his goatee even more than his mustache.
From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
