bald

[ bawld ]

adjective

1. having little or no hair on the scalp:

   a bald head;

   a bald person.

2. destitute of some natural growth or covering:

   a bald mountain.

3. lacking detail; bare; plain; unadorned:

   a bald prose style.

4. open; undisguised:

   a bald lie.

   Synonyms: flat-out, downright, out-and-out, utter, patent, flagrant, barefaced, bare

5. Zoology. having white on the head:

   the bald eagle.

6. Automotive. (of a tire) having the tread completely worn away.

verb (used without object)

1. to become bald.

noun

1. (often initial capital letter) Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a treeless mountaintop or area near the top: often used as part of a proper name.

bald

/ bɔːld /

adjective

1. having no hair or fur, esp (of a man) having no hair on all or most of the scalp
2. lacking natural growth or covering
3. plain or blunt

   a bald statement

4. bare or simple; unadorned
5. Alsobaldfaced (of certain birds and other animals) having white markings on the head and face
6. (of a tyre) having a worn tread

Derived Forms

• ˈbaldly, adverb
• ˈbaldish, adjective
• ˈbaldness, noun

Other Words From

• baldish adjective
• baldly adverb
• baldness noun
• half-bald adjective
• semi·bald adjective
• semi·baldly adverb
• semi·baldness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bald¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ball(e)d, equivalent to ball “white spot” (compare Welsh bal, Greek phaliós “having a white spot”) + -ed -ed ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of bald¹

C14 ballede (literally: having a white spot); related to Danish bǣldet , Greek phalaros having a white spot

Example Sentences

Police said she described her attacker as an adult male, bald and with brown eyes, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 160 lbs.

From Los Angeles Times

“When we first started it’d probably be like 80% men over 50 — like looking out at a bloody dozen eggs,” she says of the gathering of gray and bald heads.

From Los Angeles Times

Bald, with jacked arms even at what must be nearly 70 years of age, he moved back and forth through the room like a cross between a wrestling coach and a monk, offering what amounted to spiritual guidance in profane language.

From Salon

While waiting for my beer, I chatted with the burly, bald man next to me: Donny, with a lengthy, wispy gray beard, and a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” T-shirt.

From Slate

At a national hunting and fishing event in Bald Eagle National Park, I met Gene Wool, one of those hard-to-find undecideds.

From BBC

Related Words

• bare
• hairless
• naked