a person whose occupation it is to cut and dress the hair of customers, especially men, and to shave or trim the beard.
to cut the hair of
to shave or trim the beard of
1275–1325; Middle English barbour < Anglo-French; Old French barbeor, equivalent to barb ( e ) (< Latin barba beard) + -eor < Latin -ātōr- -ator
A barber is a person whose job is cutting hair in a barbershop. Your barber might have a tendency to cut your hair a little shorter than you like. When you visit a barbershop, you sit in a special chair while the barber cuts your hair with scissors or electric clippers. Men are the most common customers of a barber, although women can also get their hair cut by barbers. Barber comes from the Anglo-French word barbour, which is rooted in the Latin word for "beard," barb. Early barbers were certified not only to cut hair, but to perform surgery and dentistry as well.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The teen who filed the lawsuit is now out of custody and working to become a barber.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
On death row in Urmia’s main prison, Bakerzadeh became friends with Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a barber from a village near the city who was also arrested after the protests for women’s rights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Other inmates would ask the young barber for a haircut before their family members visited, Chapati said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Excitement in the town was amplified by Smith's barber offering free haircuts, while roads and even a fish and chip shop were temporarily named after him.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
His friends the priest, the barber, and Samson came to see him many times daily.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Barber will be able to have her fun on the return journey, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Another paper by Barber and Odean found that the average active investor reliably underperforms the broader market.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
The Southern Section finalized its championship schedule for softball this week, and the Division 1 final between La Mirada and JSerra will take place Friday at 7 p.m. at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
“Travel demand remains strong, and despite higher fuel prices, many people are prioritizing leisure travel during holiday breaks,” said Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel.
From Barron's ● May 17, 2026
Not even strawberry ice cream could lure her away from the radio when Red Barber was broadcasting the latest adventure of de Bums.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Education experts said one possible response to such a scenario is for state legislatures that set licensing requirements to decide some occupations — like barbers and stylists — actually need less training.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Schools that educate ministers, barbers, massage therapists, and cosmetologists could be especially hard hit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Last year, three barbers in Kunar province were jailed for three to five months for breaching the ministry's rules, according to a UN report.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Wednesday to pick up his barbers from his downtown business and start cutting hair at Los Angeles Mission in Skid Row.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025
Somehow, the barbers always became self-important, thinking of themselves as tough, no-nonsense guys because they cut the hair of tough, no-nonsense guys every day.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Trees barbered to resemble incense pots and traditional Yemeni daggers.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 7, 2021
It’s a big American story that rolls across barbered lawns and then leaves you stranded in some all-night Sam’s Club of the soul.
From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2018
For now at least this England team can get on with presenting itself to the world, laid out in its splendid new-build sarcophagus, shaved and barbered, newly suited, eyes glazed with entropic reverie.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 12, 2012
Coaches who have barbered the rulebook like Edward Scissorhands look upon Calipari with a weird mixture of awe and disdain.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2010
Even for the first day, he was almost suspiciously well barbered.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Social media has been "massive" for the barbering industry, says dad-of-three Alsanawi, whose Instagram is filled with videos of him giving players including England vice-captain Declan Rice fresh trims.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
A T-level in hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy was due to begin in 2023, but was delayed before eventually being scrapped altogether.
From BBC ● May 10, 2024
Mr Cox said he had "hope of my barber shop or my barbering tools etc being somewhat salvageable", but "the whole room has gone including everything in it".
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2023
He also took up prison barbering to make money.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
I do not think I ever really hated him until he had that little spell of superiority at lunch—that and when he went through all that barbering.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
