beard

¹ American  

[beerd] / bɪərd /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Botany. a tuft or growth of awns or the like, as on wheat or barley.

4. a barb or catch on an arrow, fishhook, knitting needle, crochet needle, etc.

5. Also called bevel neck.  Printing.

   1. the sloping part of a type that connects the face with the shoulder of the body.

   2. 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.

   3. the cross stroke on the stem of a capital G.

6. Slang. a romantic partner chosen to conceal a person's sexual orientation, especially that of a gay or lesbian person.

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verb (used with object)

1. to oppose boldly; defy.

   It took courage for the mayor to beard the pressure groups.

   Synonyms:

   face, dare, brave, confront

   Antonyms:

   dodge, avoid

2. to seize, pluck, or pull the beard of.

   The hoodlums bearded the old man.

3. to supply with a beard.

verb (used without object)

1. Slang. to act as a romantic partner to someone in order to conceal their sexual orientation, especially that of a gay or lesbian person.

Beard ² American  

[beerd] / bɪərd /

noun

1. Charles Austin, 1874–1948, and his wife Mary, 1876–1958, U.S. historians.

2. Daniel Carter, 1850–1941, U.S. artist and naturalist: organized the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.

3. James Andrew, 1903–85, U.S. cooking teacher and food writer.

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beard British  

/ bɪəd /

noun

1. the hair growing on the lower parts of a man's face

2. any similar growth in animals

3. a tuft of long hairs in plants such as barley and wheat; awn

4. the gills of an oyster

5. a barb, as on an arrow or fish-hook

6. slang a woman who accompanies a homosexual man to give the impression that he is heterosexual

7. printing the part of a piece of type that connects the face with the shoulder

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verb

1. to oppose boldly or impertinently

2. to pull or grasp the beard of

beard Scientific  

/ bîrd /

1. A tuft or group of hairs or bristles on certain plants, such as barley and wheat. The individual strands of a beard are attached to a sepal or petal.

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Other Word Forms

• bearded adjective
• beardlike adjective
• unbeard verb (used with object)

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

In his earliest appearances as Sam, Kani had to apply gray makeup to his beard and temples to be believable as the middle-aged employee.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

"There are cameras everywhere. Wouldn't I have come in a hire car or something? With some kind of beard?" he reasons.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

The Washington Post highlighted his “bushy white beard and easy smile.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

"But no, the war is still ongoing," said the strong-armed baker, sporting a short bristle of beard.

From Barron's • Feb. 21, 2026

And in a few hours, I’m going to telegraph my report on the spectacle of the inauguration—did you know Mr. Lincoln has grown a beard along his chin for this occasion, but no mustache?

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan