beard
noun
a thick growth of hair on the face, especially on an adult man, often including a mustache.
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beard
1 American
[beerd]
/ bɪərd /
noun
-
beards
plural
-
a thick growth of hair on the face, especially on an adult man, often including a mustache.
He's been growing out his beard for a couple of months, and it's filling in nicely.
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Zoology. a tuft, growth, or part resembling or suggesting the thick growth of hair on the human face, such as the tuft of long hairs on the lower jaw of a goat or the cluster of hairlike feathers at the base of the bill in certain birds.
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Botany. a tuft or growth of awns or the like, as on wheat or barley.
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a barb or catch on an arrow, fishhook, knitting needle, crochet needle, etc.
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Also called bevel neck. Printing.
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the sloping part of a type that connects the face with the shoulder of the body.
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British. the space on a type between the bottom of the face of an x-high character and the edge of the body, comprising both beard and shoulder.
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the cross stroke on the stem of a capital G.
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Slang. a romantic partner chosen to conceal a person's sexual orientation, especially that of a gay or lesbian person.
verb (used with object)
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beards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bearded,
past participle, past
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bearding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
beards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bearded,
past participle, past
-
bearding
present participle
Beard
2
American
[beerd]
/ bɪərd /
noun
-
Charles Austin, 1874–1948, and his wife Mary, 1876–1958, U.S. historians.
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Daniel Carter, 1850–1941, U.S. artist and naturalist: organized the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.
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James Andrew, 1903–85, U.S. cooking teacher and food writer.
beard
British
/ bɪəd /
noun
-
the hair growing on the lower parts of a man's face
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any similar growth in animals
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a tuft of long hairs in plants such as barley and wheat; awn
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the gills of an oyster
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a barb, as on an arrow or fish-hook
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slang a woman who accompanies a homosexual man to give the impression that he is heterosexual
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printing the part of a piece of type that connects the face with the shoulder
verb
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to oppose boldly or impertinently
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to pull or grasp the beard of
beard
Scientific
/ bîrd /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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beardsimple
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beardssimple
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have beardedperfect
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has beardedperfect
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am beardingprogressive
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are beardingprogressive
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is beardingprogressive
-
have been beardingperfect progressive
-
has been beardingperfect progressive
Past
-
beardedsimple
-
had beardedperfect
-
was beardingprogressive
-
were beardingprogressive
-
had been beardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of beard
First recorded before 900; Middle English berd, Old English beard; cognate with Dutch baard, German Bart, Late Latin Langobardi “Long-beards (name of the Lombards),” Crimean Gothic bars; akin to Latin barba, Lithuanian barzdà, Old Church Slavonic brada, Russian borodá
Explanation
A beard is the facial hair on a person's chin and cheeks. Santa Claus is famous in part for his long, white beard. You're most likely to see a beard on an adult man, although some women grow enough facial hair to sport a beard too. Some animals, like goats, have beards as well. Someone whose presence helps another person disguise his identity — maybe because he's a spy — is often informally called a beard as well.
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.
See Examples For:
He has a trim mustache and beard, yes, but the actor, who spends a significant portion of the play shirtless, has nary a hair on his sharply chiseled chest and big-gun biceps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
With a thick beard and wearing a grey sweatshirt and trousers, he spoke only to confirm his address in Rotherham and his date of birth.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Now white haired with a neatly trimmed beard and sunken cheeks, Bakker’s once upbeat delivery and playful repartee with guests had been replaced by a grim figure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Outwardly, Kenig, with a sharp-featured face and salt-and-pepper beard, does not reveal his inner wounds.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
For in addition to his twinkling eyes and long cigar-sweet beard, Father ticked.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
"I suppose I wanted to give it a go. I've watched the show and it seemed like a challenge, so I thought why not," Beard said.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
“It’s a staple for a lot of service industry people,” said the chef, restaurateur and three-time James Beard Award nominee in San Antonio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Smith, who still reminds me of Coach Beard in “Ted Lasso,” explained that his prosecution wasn’t politically inspired.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Quins' Tyrone Green made what he thought would be a scoring pass to Oscar Beard, only for Bath full-back Santi Carreras to lunge foot-first between the two.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
“Come on, we’re going to Beard Papa’s. We’ll bring stuff back. Ben, you coming?”
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
This may explain why he has no problem when white men have beards, as seen on his church leader, Doug Wilson, or the many celebrities the defense secretary likes to take photos with.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
I wasn’t surprised to learn the two men were close friends; they even look alike, with their long white beards and sparkling eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Or are beards so common that it scarcely matters?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He detested beards, thought them all fakes—his bearded Georgian father had died in 1937.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The play is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and all of Joseph’s brothers are wearing these fluffy fake beards.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
That’s his superpower: He’s a bearded human worm.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
At Fidel Castro’s childhood home, a local historian shows a family photo with the bearded Castro in attendance at his sister’s wedding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Marsh harriers, bearded tits, flocks of waders and overwintering ducks and geese are a regular sight for visitors, along with otters, water voles, fen raft spiders, orchids and rare sharp-leaved pondweed.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Hidden in the basement of a supermarket, the thick smell of sweat hangs heavy in the air as she pushes weights alongside bearded muscle-men.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
On the third try it connects, but instead of Zohra, Thaya Jaan’s bearded face fills the screen.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
Some say this bearding trend began with the 1980s television series “Miami Vice,” wherein the actor Don Johnson sported a 5-o’clock shadow that was much commented on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
There’s talk of bearding dragons in their den and of forthcoming battles, plus a rather lovely foray into a deep cave system.
From The Guardian ● May 11, 2016
One can only imagine what Mr. Beale might have done with the character if the script had been more daring in bearding Stalin in his innermost lair.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2012
Through a popular book and a starring role on IFC’s “Whisker Wars,” a seven-episode documentary series, Jack Passion, 28, has become the bushy face of the bearding game.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2011
The grey moss grew thickly here, covering the fallen stones in great mounds and bearding all the towers.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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