beard
beard — noun
1. the hair on a person's chin, jaw, and cheeks when it is left unshaven
the hair on a person's chin, jaw, and cheeks when it is left unshaven
Rashida grew a short beard after leaving the army.
grow a beard
By winter, the fisherman had a thick beard over his chin.
have a thick beard
The baby pulled Omar's beard during the family photo.
pull someone's beard
At the interview, Lena noticed the actor's silver beard first.
After three weeks on the boat, every sailor had a beard.
- grow a beard
- thick beard
- full beard
- shave off a beard
- stroke your beard
- facial hair
is the broad general term and can include a moustache on its own
- whiskers
is more informal and may suggest fuller or rougher facial hair
- stubble
means very short new beard growth after shaving
- goatee
names a smaller beard mainly on the chin
- clean-shaven
means having no beard because the face is shaved
Grammar Patterns
grow a beard
have a beard
shave off a beard
Usage Note
Usually refers to the full area of facial hair on the chin and cheeks. Distinguish from noun/2, which is the hanging hair under a goat's jaw.
Common Mistakes
2. a pointed tuft hanging from the bottom of a goat's jaw
a pointed tuft hanging from the bottom of a goat's jaw
The old goat's white beard swung as it chewed the rope.
a goat's beard
On the farm, each young goat had a small beard by spring.
Quinn laughed when the black goat dipped its beard in water.
The boy drew a beard under the goat's mouth in chalk.
under the goat's mouth
That mountain goat had mud on its beard after the climb.
- a goat's beard
- long beard
- white beard
- mud on its beard
Grammar Patterns
a goat's beard
have a beard
Usage Note
Almost always used for goats or closely similar animals, not for fur in general. Distinguish from noun/1, which is about human facial hair.
Common Mistakes
3. the tough thin fibers a mussel uses to fasten itself to rock or wood
the tough thin fibers a mussel uses to fasten itself to rock or wood
The cook cut away the mussel's beard before dropping it into the pan.
remove a mussel's beard
Several mussels kept their beards, so the cook washed them again.
At the market, Eva checked each beard before buying the mussels.
The small black shells clung to the dock by their beards.
attach by their beards
A torn beard can stop a mussel from staying on wet stone.
- mussel's beard
- remove the beard
- cut away the beard
- beard attached to rock
Grammar Patterns
remove the beard
a mussel's beard
attach by its beard
Usage Note
Used mainly for mussels and similar shellfish. In cooking, it usually means the part you pull off before steaming or frying them.
Common Mistakes
4. someone presented as another person's partner so other people believe an untrue
someone presented as another person's partner so other people believe an untrue story about that person's private life
At the awards dinner, Eli asked a friend to be his beard.
be someone's beard
For years, the singer's beard appeared with him at public events.
The rumor ended when his beard said they were never dating.
In the film, the senator uses a beard to hide his affair.
use a beard to hide something
Quinn refused to act as anyone's beard during the campaign.
act as a beard
- be his beard
- be her beard
- act as a beard
- public beard
Grammar Patterns
be someone's beard
act as a beard
Usage Note
Informal and strongly linked to hiding a real relationship or sexual identity. It often appears in the patterns be someone's beard and act as a beard.
Common Mistakes
5. an object, business, or activity used as a cover so someone or something seems h
an object, business, or activity used as a cover so someone or something seems harmless or honest
The charity website was only a beard for the money scheme.
a beard for + noun
In the novel, the small shop serves as a beard for spies.
serve as a beard
The fake school project became a beard for secret payments.
To neighbors, the travel club looked like a beard for gambling.
That cheerful club page was a beard hiding the gang's business.
- a beard for fraud
- serve as a beard
- use as a beard
- political beard
Grammar Patterns
a beard for something
serve as a beard
use something as a beard
Usage Note
Less common than noun/4 and usually refers to a plan, business, or public activity rather than a person. Distinguish from noun/4, which is specifically a person pretending to be someone's partner.
Common Mistakes
beard — verb
1. to go straight up to a difficult or threatening person and challenge them boldly
to go straight up to a difficult or threatening person and challenge them boldly
The reporter bearded the mayor outside city hall after the leak.
beard + person
Rosa finally bearded her landlord about the broken front door.
beard + person + about + issue
During the strike, two workers bearded the boss in his office.
No one wanted to beard the gang leader at the funeral.
After the threats, Mina still bearded the man in court.
- beard the mayor
- beard the boss
- beard someone about rent
- beard an enemy
Grammar Patterns
beard someone
beard someone about something
Usage Note
Formal or literary, and the object is usually a person seen as powerful, rude, or dangerous. For ordinary situations, confront or face is more common.
Common Mistakes
2. to pull the tough fibers off a mussel before cooking it
to pull the tough fibers off a mussel before cooking it
Sam bearded the mussels at the sink before heating the pot.
beard mussels before cooking
In the kitchen class, each student learned to beard fresh mussels.
The chef bearded every mussel before adding garlic and wine.
Bea's father bearded the mussels while the soup began to boil.
At the dock cafe, cooks beard the mussels as orders come in.
present tense in kitchen instructions
- beard the mussels
- beard fresh mussels
- beard before steaming
- beard at the sink
Grammar Patterns
beard mussels
beard shellfish before cooking
Usage Note
Used mainly in cooking and usually with mussels. It refers only to pulling off the fibers, not to washing the shells or opening them.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- beardedadjectiveB2
- beardlessadjectiveC2
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
For noun sense 1, beard is the general word for hair grown on the chin and much of the lower face. Stubble is much shorter: it is the rough new growth you feel a day or two after shaving. A goatee is narrower, because it mainly sits on the chin. A moustache is different again, since it grows above the upper lip and can exist without a beard. Whiskers is informal and can mean facial hair in general, especially when it looks full or untidy. You can say Rashida grew a beard over winter, had stubble by Monday evening, or kept only a goatee for the play.
Etymology
Beard is a very old Germanic word. Old English already had beard, and it is related to German Bart and Dutch baard. All of them go back to an earlier Indo-European root connected with facial hair, so the central meaning has stayed almost unchanged in English for a very long time.