bald

bald — adjective

1. having lost hair from part of the head, especially the top, so that the skin sho

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

having lost hair from part of the head, especially the top, so that the skin shows, but not necessarily on every area.

Example

Grandpa Henry has been bald since he turned forty.

predicative use: be + bald

Yara shaved her head and now looks completely bald.

intensifier: completely bald

Common collocations
  • go bald
  • completely bald
  • almost bald
  • shave someone bald
  • bald patch
  • bald spot
Synonyms
  • hairless

    more clinical; describes any body part without hair, not only the scalp

  • shaven-headed

    specifically refers to hair removed by shaving, often a style choice

Antonyms

Usage Note

Frequently used with 'go' to describe the process of losing hair (he is going bald) and with 'completely' or 'half' to mark the degree.

Common Mistakes

My uncle is balded.
My uncle is bald.
'bald' is itself an adjective; do not add '-ed'.
He has bald.
He is bald.' or 'He has gone bald.
use 'be' or 'go' with the adjective, not 'have'.

2. having absolutely no hair anywhere on the head at all; completely without hair o

2.adjective
Definition

having absolutely no hair anywhere on the head at all; completely without hair on the scalp.

Example

After the chemotherapy, Aunt Wei was completely bald for nearly a year.

stressing total loss: completely bald

The wrestler shaves his scalp every morning and is bald as a coot.

fixed simile: bald as a coot

Common collocations
  • completely bald
  • totally bald
  • bald as an egg
  • shaved bald
Synonyms
  • smooth-headed

    informal; emphasises the texture of the bare scalp

  • egg-bald

    informal; playful, based on the simile

Antonyms

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is reserved for 100% hairlessness and usually appears with intensifiers like 'completely', 'totally', or fixed similes such as 'bald as an egg'.

Common Mistakes

He is a bit completely bald.
He is a bit bald.' or 'He is completely bald.
'completely bald' allows no degree softener.

3. given plainly, without extra polite words to make it sound kinder or easier to a

3.adjective
Definition

given plainly, without extra polite words to make it sound kinder or easier to accept.

Example

The lawyer delivered the bald truth: the company had lost everything.

collocation: bald truth

Her bald refusal to answer the journalist surprised the whole room.

collocation: bald refusal

Common collocations
  • bald statement
  • bald truth
  • bald facts
  • bald refusal
  • bald announcement
Synonyms
  • blunt

    more about manner; can describe people as well as words

  • bare

    similar pattern (bare facts) but slightly less critical in tone

  • unvarnished

    literary; emphasises the absence of softening or polish

Antonyms
  • elaborate

    given with rich detail and explanation

  • tactful

    softened to spare feelings

Usage Note

Almost always attributive (placed before a noun) and limited to nouns describing speech or information — 'bald statement / truth / fact / refusal'. Do not use it of people or objects in this sense.

Common Mistakes

His answer was bald.
He gave a bald answer.
prefer the attributive form before a speech-related noun.
a bald boy who told the truth' (meaning 'plain-speaking')
a plain-spoken boy
'bald' before a person noun is read as 'no hair', not 'blunt'.

4. describing a tyre, piece of fabric, or similar surface that has lost its pattern

4.adjective
Definition

describing a tyre, piece of fabric, or similar surface that has lost its pattern or texture through use, leaving it dangerously smooth or thin.

Example

The mechanic refused to drive the van because all four tyres were bald.

collocation: bald tyre / tire

The old armchair had a bald patch on each arm where Ben rested his hands.

collocation: bald patch on a surface

Common collocations
  • bald tyre
  • bald tire
  • bald patch
  • go bald
  • worn bald
Synonyms
  • worn

    general term; not limited to surfaces that should be textured

  • threadbare

    specifically for fabric whose threads are showing

  • smooth

    neutral; lacks the warning of danger that 'bald' carries for tyres

Antonyms

Usage Note

Subject is usually a tyre, carpet, fabric, or animal coat — anything that should have a textured surface but has been worn flat. Often paired with 'patch' to point out the worn area.

Common Mistakes

a bald floor
a worn floor' or 'a bald patch on the floor
use 'bald patch' for a localised worn spot rather than 'bald' for a whole surface.
Idioms

(as) bald as a coot

idiom

Having no hair at all on the head.

After chemotherapy, my uncle was as bald as a coot.

Is your grandfather as bald as a coot, or does he still have some hair?

thin/bald on top

idiom

Having little or no hair on the upper part of the head.

My dad is getting thin on top, but he still has a full beard.

Sara noticed her brother was already bald on top at age thirty.

bald — verb

Word family

  • balding
    adjective
  • baldly
    adverb
  • baldness
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe a head with little or no hair, but they differ in cause, degree, and tone. 'Bald' is the everyday word for a head where most of the hair is gone, whether from age, illness, or shaving — it does not say why. 'Hairless' is more clinical and neutral; doctors use it for any body part without hair, not just the scalp, so a hairless chest sounds normal but a hairless man sounds odd. 'Balding' marks the process: a balding man still has some hair but is clearly losing it. 'Shaven-headed' tells you the smooth scalp is a deliberate style choice, not a natural loss. Compare: 'Grandpa is bald' (state, cause unknown), 'Grandpa is balding' (still ongoing), 'The monk is shaven-headed' (chosen).

bald ↗hairlessbaldingshaven-headed

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bald head
  • bald patch
  • bald spot
  • bald man
  • bald eagle

Adverbs

Phrases

  • go bald
  • shave someone bald
  • as bald as an egg
  • bald as a coot

Prepositions

  • bald on top
  • bald at the back
  • bald from chemotherapy

Etymology

Proto-GermanicMiddle EnglishEnglish

First recorded in Middle English around the 14th century, probably from an older word meaning 'white patch' or 'shining'. The link with 'white' survives in animal names like 'bald eagle', whose head is white rather than truly hairless. The figurative sense of 'plain, with no decoration' developed later, by analogy with a bare scalp.