Historical & Current Events dictionary
Movember
[ moh-vem-ber ]
What is Movember?
Movember is a month-long event in which people are encouraged to grow mustaches in order to raise (grow) awareness of and funding for research related to men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health.
Although Movember is based on the idea of growing a mustache during the month, it’s not limited to that and many people observe it in other ways.
Movember is often associated with and sometimes confused with No-Shave November, a similar month-long event that takes place at the same time. Specifically, though, No-Shave November involves not shaving any facial hair for the month as part of a campaign to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.
In the case of both Movember and No-Shave November, some people grow facial hair during the month simply for fun, without engaging in the months’ charitable aspects.
Those participating in Movember often use the hashtag #Movember on social media.
⚡️When Is Movember?
Movember takes place each year during November.
Where does Movember come from?
Movember originated in Australia in 2003 as the idea of two friends, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, who wanted to bring mustaches back into fashion.
In Australia, mustache is spelled moustache, and the word mo is used as an informal shortening of it. The name Movember is a blend of mo and November, the month in which it takes place.
The event was formalized in 2004, with the cause officially being devoted to raising funds for prostate cancer research. Other men’s health issues have been incorporated since then. In 2006, the Movember Foundation was established as a charity organization.
Examples of Movember
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Movember like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Movember that will help our users expand their word mastery.