beard

1 of 2

noun

1
: the hair that grows on a man's face often excluding the mustache
2
: a hairy or bristly appendage or tuft
3
beardless adjective

beard

2 of 2

verb

bearded; bearding; beards

transitive verb

1
: to confront and oppose with boldness, resolution, and often effrontery : defy
2
: to furnish with a beard

Examples of beard in a Sentence

Noun He grew a beard and mustache. the beard of a goat Verb a man of integrity who was never afraid to beard the lion in his den
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
His face framed by his familiar Bunyan-esque beard, Mr. Kelce wore a cutoff T-shirt, sandals and a gold Rolex. Scott Cacciola, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Turner, a native of Mt. Clemons, Michigan, was the heart and soul of Blackberry Smoke, a gregarious presence with a long beard, wild hair, and boisterous laugh. Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 Moshe, an olive-skinned man with a short black beard, ate in the kitchen. Shane Bauer, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 At least five people — but likely more — have dyed their beards blue. Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 28 Jan. 2024 The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, traveled to Australia to cheer on girlfriend Taylor Swift at her first Eras Tour show at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Friday — and his Super Bowl beard was noticeably shorter. Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 23 Feb. 2024 In 2017, Turner was named the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player. Conclusions: Standing out in a crowd with his red hair and massive red beard, Turner offers the Blue Jays a remarkably consistent, reliable player on both sides of the ball. Bernie Pleskoff, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 There was white skin and black, gray hair and brown ponytails, eye liner and beards. Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024 The seeds of vegetables and the beard of a wild oat are presented with fanatical tenderness. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English berd, from Old English beard; akin to Old High German bart beard, Latin barba

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of beard was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near beard

Cite this Entry

“Beard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beard. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

beard

1 of 2 noun
1
: the hair that grows on a man's face often not including the mustache
2
: a hairy or bristly growth or bunch (as on the chin of a goat)
bearded adjective
beardless adjective

beard

2 of 2 verb
: to face or challenge boldly
bearded his enemy

Medical Definition

beard

noun
: the hair that grows on a man's face often excluding the mustache
bearded adjective

Biographical Definition

Beard 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

Charles Austin 1874–1948 and his wife Mary 1876–1958 née Ritter American historians

Beard

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Daniel Carter 1850–1941 Uncle Dan American painter, illustrator, and organizer of Boy Scouts in U.S.

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