beau

noun

plural beaux ˈbōz How to pronounce beau (audio) or beaus

Examples of beau in a Sentence

Her beaux between marriage generally fell into two categories: ineffectual pretty boys or handsome brutes. Joanne Kaufman, People, 21 Mar. 1988
This was essentially the vehicle that had been perfected, through more than a century or two, for—and by—a continuing line of fops, beaux, macaronis, dudes, bucks, blades, swells, bloods and mashers. Osbert Sitwell, The Scarlet Tree, 1975
She introduced us to her latest beau. her new beau brought flowers when he picked her up for their first date
Recent Examples on the Web When her son, Julien, blabbed about Debbie’s crazy, on-screen breakup with her new beau, the Georgia native admitted to holding some indignity over the 43-year age gap relationship. Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024 Her beau Bill Hader, who is also nominated for a SAG Award for his work on Barry, has so far accompanied her on her winning streak. Sam Reed, Glamour, 25 Feb. 2024 Simply by falling in love, Swift is helping her beau work his way toward media mogul status. Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 The day after her record-breaking night at the Grammys, Taylor Swift’s beau Travis Kelce gushed about the pop icon’s talent and soaring career while promising to match her big win when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers at Sunday’s Super Bowl. Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Feb. 2024 Swift is kicking off the 2024 leg of her groundbreaking Eras Tour before a possible return to the U.S. to watch beau and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce compete in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11 against the San Francisco 49ers. Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2024 For clarity, while Swift has attended a number of Chiefs games this season to support her beau Kelce, and Kelce has appeared in a series of commercials encouraging Americans to get the life-saving COVID-19 vaccine, neither has made any political endorsements in this year’s presidential campaign. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2024 The 27-year-old supermodel first shared a snapshot beside her new beau for Valentine’s Day. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 17 Feb. 2024 Here are some of the cutest pictures of Berry and her beau. Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 31 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beau.' 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

borrowed from French, from beau, bel (masculine), belle (feminine) "beautiful, good-looking," going back to Old French bel, going back to Latin bellus, probably going back (via *duellos, assimilated from *duenlos) to *dwenelos, diminutive of *dwe-nos "good" (whence Old Latin duenos, Latin bonus) — more at bounty

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of beau was in 1653

Dictionary Entries Near beau

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

beau

noun
plural beaux ˈbōz How to pronounce beau (audio) or beaus
ˈbōz
Etymology

from French beau "boyfriend," from beau (adjective) "fine, beautiful," derived from Latin bellus "pretty" — related to beauty, belle

More from Merriam-Webster on beau

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