Library / English Dictionary

BEARD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface

Synonyms:

beard; byssus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("beard" is a kind of...):

fiber; fibre (a slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hairy growth on or near the face of certain mammals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("beard" is a kind of...):

hair (a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss)

Holonyms ("beard" is a part of...):

caprine animal; goat (any of numerous agile ruminants related to sheep but having a beard and straight horns)

Derivation:

beard (go along the rim, like a beard around the chin)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The hair growing on the lower part of a man's face

Synonyms:

beard; face fungus; whiskers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("beard" is a kind of...):

facial hair (hair on the face (especially on the face of a man))

Meronyms (parts of "beard"):

moustache; mustache (an unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beard"):

fuzz (the first beard of an adolescent boy)

imperial; imperial beard (a small tufted beard worn by Emperor Napoleon III)

beaver (a full beard)

goatee (a small chin beard trimmed to a point; named for its resemblance to a goat's beard)

stubble (short stiff hairs growing on a man's face when he has not shaved for a few days)

vandyke; vandyke beard (a short pointed beard (named after the artist Anthony Vandyke))

Attilio; soul patch (a small patch of facial hair just below the lower lip and above the chin)

Holonyms ("beard" is a part of...):

adult male body; man's body (the body of an adult man)

face; human face (the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear)

Derivation:

beard (go along the rim, like a beard around the chin)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A person who diverts suspicion from someone (especially a woman who accompanies a male homosexual in order to conceal his homosexuality)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("beard" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A tuft or growth of hairs or bristles on certain plants such as iris or grasses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("beard" is a kind of...):

fuzz; hair; tomentum (filamentous hairlike growth on a plant)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beard"):

awn (slender bristlelike appendage found on the bracts of grasses)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Go along the rim, like a beard around the chin

Example:

Houses bearded the top of the heights

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "beard" is one way to...):

rim (run around the rim of)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

beard (hairy growth on or near the face of certain mammals)

beard (the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Such were these, doubtless—this golden-bearded man and the fair damsel with the cold, proud face.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With the flushed, dazed face of a man who is just recovering from recent intoxication, the landlord was tearing madly about, his hat gone, and his hair and beard flying in the wind.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Three times had our bearded friend from the Langham called for news—the third time within an hour of this fresh development.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It has a long head with abundant whiskers, beard and eyebrows.

(Kerry Blue Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)

The Miniature Schnauzer is a small, squarely-proportioned dog with a long head, bushy beard, mustache and eyebrows.

(Miniature Schnauzer, NCI Thesaurus)

The Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen is a small dog with an unkempt, wiry double coat with shaggy eyebrows, beard and mustache.

(Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, NCI Thesaurus)

The Irish Terrier is a medium-sized, well-proportioned terrier with long whiskers, a bearded muzzle with powerful jaws, and bushy eyebrows.

(Irish Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by the presence of excess hair growth in women in anatomic sites where growth is considered to be a secondary male characteristic and under androgen control (beard, moustache, chest, abdomen).

(Hirsutism, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

The beard, forehead hair and whiskers protect the face.

(German Wirehaired Pointer, NCI Thesaurus)

The Giant Schnauzer is a large, compact dog with bushy eyebrows, whiskers and a beard.

(Giant Schnauzer, NCI Thesaurus)