moustache
Americannoun
noun
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the unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip, and sometimes down the sides of the mouth
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a similar growth of hair or bristles (in animals) or feathers (in birds)
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a mark like a moustache
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of moustache
C16: via French from Italian mostaccio, ultimately from Doric Greek mustax upper lip
Explanation
A moustache is hair that grows between a person's nose and mouth. Some moustaches are as thin as a pencil line, while others are bushy and full. Salvador Dali was known for his long, curled moustache. If you're trying to grow a moustache, you might start by shaving all your facial hair except the strands that grow above your upper lip. When your moustache becomes luxuriant and ample, you can trim it with scissors and style it with moustache wax. The word moustache (also spelled mustache comes from the French moustache, which has a Greek root, mystax, "upper lip."
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.
The man with brown hair and a moustache was identified by multiple US news outlets, citing law enforcement sources, as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California.
From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026
With his bushy moustache and long hair hidden by a swimming cap, he won 200m breaststroke gold at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Bellowing "Silence, everyone!" to terrified parliamentarians, the man with a bushy moustache and shiny tricorn quickly caught the public's attention in an image engraved on the nation's collective memory.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
Sporting a conquistador moustache and thighs as thick as a gaucho's steak, the culture shock was severe when the Argentina wing arrived at Harlequins.
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025
With his stern gaze, scowling moustache, and long, thick hair that swept straight back from the forehead, Hrdlicka was the very image of celluloid-collar Authority.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
