moustache
Americannoun
noun
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the unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip, and sometimes down the sides of the mouth
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a similar growth of hair or bristles (in animals) or feathers (in birds)
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a mark like a moustache
Other Word Forms
- moustached adjective
Etymology
Origin of moustache
C16: via French from Italian mostaccio, ultimately from Doric Greek mustax upper lip
Explanation
A moustache is hair that grows between a person's nose and mouth. Some moustaches are as thin as a pencil line, while others are bushy and full. Salvador Dali was known for his long, curled moustache. If you're trying to grow a moustache, you might start by shaving all your facial hair except the strands that grow above your upper lip. When your moustache becomes luxuriant and ample, you can trim it with scissors and style it with moustache wax. The word moustache (also spelled mustache comes from the French moustache, which has a Greek root, mystax, "upper lip."
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.
With his bushy moustache and long hair hidden by a swimming cap, he won 200m breaststroke gold at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Bellowing "Silence, everyone!" to terrified parliamentarians, the man with a bushy moustache and shiny tricorn quickly caught the public's attention in an image engraved on the nation's collective memory.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
At 82, the former electrician with his legendary handlebar moustache is still receiving visitors in an office at the heart of the former Gdansk shipyards.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
This was successful 14 times but on the 15th attempt, the wind changed direction and blew the fire into his face, causing him to lose an eyebrow and part of his signature moustache.
From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025
Mrs. Reilly looked emotionally at Ignatius for agreement but was treated only to a sneering moustache.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
