sideburns

[ sahyd-burnz ]
See synonyms for: sideburnssideburn on Thesaurus.com

plural noun
  1. short whiskers extending from the hairline to below the ears and worn with an unbearded chin.

  2. the projections of the hairline forming a border on the face in front of each ear.

Origin of sideburns

1
1885–90, Americanism; alteration of burnsides

Words Nearby sideburns

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sideburns in a sentence

  • One day at the noon hour a big farmer with red sideburns rode up to the schoolhouse with a revolver in his hand.

    The Story of General Pershing | Everett T. (Everett Titsworth) Tomlinson
  • He wore his brown mustache thick and let it grow back over his cheeks to join his sideburns.

    Shaman | Robert Shea
  • The man's hair needed cutting and ragged sideburns strayed down either cheek, to meet beneath his chin.

    Swamp Cat | James Arthur Kjelgaard
  • And outwardly he remained a mild little figure with sideburns, kindly tolerant toward everyone.

    Gargoyles | Ben Hecht
  • You have gray sideburns then, and there's not a touch of gray in your hair now.

British Dictionary definitions for sideburns

sideburns

/ (ˈsaɪdˌbɜːnz) /


pl n
  1. a man's whiskers grown down either side of the face in front of the ears: Also called: sideboards, side whiskers, (Austral) sidelevers

Origin of sideburns

1
C19: variant of burnsides

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012