beard

1 of 2

noun

ˈbird How to pronounce beard (audio)
Synonyms of beardnext
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 How to pronounce beard (audio)
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 of beard

Relevance

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Police said the suspect is a man in his 30s with brown hair and a beard. — Ashley Paul, CBS News, 29 June 2026 The chef, dressed in a wool vest, face framed by beard and glasses, has built himself a tiny cottage kitchen. — Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 2 July 2026 Prison life hasn't been easy on Otto, who has dungeon hair, sunken eyes and a scraggly beard. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 29 June 2026 And Anderson, with his thick white beard, is something of a Hemingway look-alike. — ABC News, 6 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for beard

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

Phrases Containing beard

Rhymes for beard

See All Rhymes for beard

Browse Nearby Words

bear corn
beard
Beard
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Beard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beard. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

beard

1 of 2 noun
ˈbi(ə)rd How to pronounce beard (audio)
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 How to pronounce beard (audio)
adjective
beardless
-ləs How to pronounce beard (audio)
adjective

beard

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

Medical Definition

beard

noun
ˈbi(ə)rd How to pronounce beard (audio)
: the hair that grows on a man's face often excluding the mustache
bearded
-əd How to pronounce beard (audio)
adjective

Biographical Definition

Beard 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈbird How to pronounce Beard (audio)
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.

More from Merriam-Webster on beard

Nglish: Translation of beard for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about beard

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All