bearded

American  

[beer-did] / ˈbɪər dɪd /

adjective

1. having a beard.

2. having a hairlike growth or tuft, as certain wheats.

3. having a barb, as a fishhook.

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Other Word Forms

• beardedness noun
• nonbearded adjective
• unbearded adjective

Etymology

Origin of bearded

First recorded in 1350–1400, bearded is from the Middle English word beerdid. See beard, -ed ³

Explanation

Someone who's bearded has a beard. If your grandfather is often mistaken for Santa Claus because of his bushy white beard, you can describe him as bearded. Men with beards — whether they're trimmed short or worn long and full — are bearded. Women can be bearded as well, though it's less common, and so can Billy goats, with their tufted little beards. The adjective bearded is sometimes even used to describe plants, like the bearded iris, which grows a prominent bushy "beard" on its lower petals. Bearded comes from the noun beard, with its Germanic root, barthaz.

Example Sentences

But Raúl Castro, who led the Cuban revolution with his bearded brother, is now a fragile nonagenarian.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Painted in about 1598, it shows Barberini as a bearded cleric apparently issuing instructions with his right hand outstretched.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

He is bearded and buff; she is a porcelain doll with Wednesday Addams hair and skin.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

The bearded man gives us a count: One, two, three …

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026

My father saw the head of a bearded seal, just the top of it, sticking up through the ice.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

Related Words

• shaggy
• unshaven