beard

 
Pronunciation: /bɪəd/

noun

  • 1a growth of hair on the chin and lower cheeks of a man’s face: he had a black beard [mass noun]: three days' growth of beard
  • a tuft of hair on the chin of certain mammals, for example a lion or goat.
  • an animal’s growth or marking that is likened to a beard, for example the gills of an oyster, or the beak bristles of certain birds.
  • a tuft of hairs or bristles on certain plants, especially the awn of a grass.
  • 2US informal a person who carries out a transaction, typically a bet, for someone else in order to conceal the other’s identity: the beard permitted the manipulator to protect the odds
  • 3North American informal a woman who accompanies a homosexual man as an escort to a social occasion, in order to help conceal his homosexuality: the closeted male and his female ‘beard’

verb

[with object]
  • boldly confront or challenge (someone formidable): he was afraid to beard the sultan himself

Phrases

beard the lion in his den (or lair)

confront or challenge someone on their own ground.

Derivatives

beardless

adjective

Origin:

Old English, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch baard and German Bart