beard

1 of 2

noun

ˈbird 

1

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

2

: a hairy or bristly appendage or tuft

3

: front sense 7a

beardless

ˈbird-ləs 

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

Synonyms

Verb

• face
• confront
• breast

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

After the Supreme Court ruling, Holt said, the department changed its grooming policy to allow closely cropped beards. —Arkansas Online, 22 Oct. 2025

Torrez, a 49-year old career prosecutor with a youthful face beneath a salt-and-pepper beard, is an unlikely antagonist for Big Tech. —Charlotte Alter, Time, 22 Oct. 2025

The cloth contains a faint image of a man with long hair, a beard and crucifixion wounds consistent with Jesus’ death. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2025

Filmed by the owner from inside a car, the video first shows a dark figure in the corner—a skeleton with a beard and top hat—facing the wall. —Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025

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

Phrases Containing beard

• old-man's beard
• spade beard

Rhymes for beard

• cheered
• cleared
• eared
• feared
• geared
• heerd
• jeered
• leered
• neared
• peered
• reared
• seared

Kids Definition

beard

1 of 2 noun

ˈbi(ə)rd 

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

-əd 

adjective

beardless

-ləs 

adjective

beard

2 of 2 verb

: to face or challenge boldly

bearded his enemy

Medical Definition

beard

noun

ˈbi(ə)rd 

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

bearded

-əd 

adjective

Biographical Definition

Beard 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈbird 

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.