mustache

American  

[muhs-tash, muh-stash] / ˈmʌs tæʃ, məˈstæʃ /

Or moustache

noun

• mustaches
  plural

1. the hair growing on the upper lip

2. such hair on men, allowed to grow without shaving, and often trimmed in any of various shapes.

3. hairs or bristles growing near the mouth of an animal.

4. a stripe of color, or elongated feathers, suggestive of a mustache on the side of the head of a bird.

5. something resembling a mustache, as food or drink adhering to the upper lip.

   a mustache of milk.

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mustache British  

/ məˈstɑːʃ /

noun

1. the US spelling of moustache

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mustached
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mustaches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mustache

1575–85; < Middle French moustache < Italian mostaccio; see mustachio

Explanation

A mustache is hair that grows between a person's nose and mouth. Some mustaches are as thin as a pencil line, while others are bushy and full. Salvador Dali was known for his long, curled mustache. If you're trying to grow a mustache, you might start by shaving all your facial hair except the strands that grow above your upper lip. When your mustache becomes luxuriant and ample, you can trim it with scissors and style it with mustache wax. The word mustache comes from the French moustache, which has a Greek root, mystax, "upper lip."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mustache mustaches

Yet in the modern era, no American president has gone about in mustache or beard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

If the truck and the Walkman were metaphorical beacons, a modest gold, rope necklace and Jeff Kent’s mustache were concealed anchors even when in plain sight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Even now at 58, he still has a mustache.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

His hair, previously dyed jet black, had gone entirely silver and his thick mustache had been replaced by a scruffy beard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Samir had begun to pluck hairs from his mustache with every pinch.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

In something of an irony, Lotus’s historic approach to cornering and traction management—crossed up, tail out, mustaches ablaze—looks a lot like what the kids call drifting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

It remains to be seen whether “Kitchen Undercover” will rely on prosthetics, fake mustaches or merely the subtler costume of the unrecognized employee.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

There are old cars, of course, and more mustaches than we are currently accustomed to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2025

Some of the women donned fake mustaches that mimicked Rome’s as they all toyed with possible explanations for what they had found.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 6, 2024

The plaid suits with large collars, the bushy mustaches and overdue haircuts, and the thick knotted ties were all obviously stylish back when he went to Oxford but looked a little funny through contemporary eyes.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore