mustache

noun

mus·​tache ˈmə-ˌstash  (ˌ)mə-ˈstash 

variants or less commonly moustache

1

: the hair growing on the human upper lip

especially : such hair grown and often trimmed in a particular style

… his long mustache combed and waxed …

—Henry Petroski

2

: hair or bristles about the mouth of a mammal

mustached adjective

or less commonly moustached

ˈmə-ˌstasht 

(ˌ)mə-ˈstasht

Examples of mustache in a Sentence

He used a small pair of scissors to trim his mustache.

He decided to grow a mustache.

The actor was wearing a false mustache.

Recent Examples on the Web

Turner, a colorful figure with a Southern drawl and rail-thin mustache, had pronounced views himself, often (though not exclusively) of a liberal bent. —David Folkenflik, NPR, 6 May 2026

Calaveras County youngster Donovan Hamanaka, wore a wig and bushy mustache to play Twain for the day. —Andrew Graham may 6, Sacbee.com, 6 May 2026

These problems are so much more than any one mustache-twirling villain could ever hope to be. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2026

Gonzalez is of Cuban descent, bald, with a brown beard and mustache. —Garfield Hylton, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French moustache, from Old Italian mustaccio, from Middle Greek moustaki, diminutive of Greek mystak-, mystax upper lip, mustache

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mustache

• Fu Manchu mustache
• handlebar mustache

Rhymes for mustache

• backlash
• chumash
• eyelash
• moustache
• noncash
• potash
• rehash
• whiplash
• ash
• bash
• brash
• cache

Kids Definition

mustache

noun

mus·​tache

variants also moustache

ˈməs-ˌtash, 

(ˌ)məs-ˈtash

1

: the hair growing on the human upper lip

2

: hair or bristles about the mouth of a mammal (as a walrus)