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
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beards
plural
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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)
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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:
Then again, Bill did have a great beard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
He trimmed and groomed his beard, and made sure his short hair was neatly cut.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some people were crazy about how he had a beard and said that he was in a sleeper cell and all this stuff.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
His considerable height, lean frame and beard only added to the sense that, at least in spirit, Mr. Glass has succeeded in summoning the man he so clearly venerates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Another was to sprinkle a special chemical into his shoes that, once absorbed into the bloodstream, would cause his famous beard to fall out.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
She found a rhythm with Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Michael Monahan will substitute for Beard for the remainder of the Big One, which will conclude its U.S. run on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
High-profile British historian Mary Beard was similarly unconvinced, though like Wilson she welcomed the interest in Homer.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
After getting a pep talk from Ted Lasso and his assistant coach Beard, Bieber changed the pace of the otherwise energetic performances with an acoustic guitar version of 'Everything Hallelujah'.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Blond Beard kept his eyes locked on his phone, but Square Glasses smiled.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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
About 20 aid workers were arrested in June near the Iran border in Herat province by Afghanistan's morality police, because their beards were not long enough.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
VILSECK, Germany—A line of tattooed, beefed-up men with bushy beards and American accents formed at the bakery in this tiny Bavarian town on a recent May morning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
“A lot of wigs, costumes, beards — fake beards,” David said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
The merchants stroked their beards, considering the offer and preparing a counterbargain.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Other entrants include a trans woman named Ashley Webb and a gloriously bearded Marine vet.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026
In his book, Blankfein noted that facial hair was “very popular” at Goldman Sachs during famously bearded Jon Corzine’s reign as CEO from 1994 to 1999.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
The site is home to bird species including bearded tit, avocet, redshank and lapwing.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Its bearded guerrilla fighters inspired 1960s student movements from Paris to Mexico City.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
I grab a handful of twenties and thrust them toward the bearded man.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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
Indeed, a pop star and a bearding champion had walked into a bar.
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
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.
