use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

beard (bîrd)
Share:
n.
1. A growth of hair on the chin, cheeks, and throat of a person, especially a man.
2. A tuft or growth of hairs, bristles, or other hairlike threads on a plant or animal.
3. One who serves to divert suspicion or attention from another, especially a person of the opposite sex who accompanies a gay man or lesbian to give the impression of heterosexuality.
4. Printing The raised slope on a piece of type between the shoulder or counter and the face.Also called neck.
tr.v.beard·ed, beard·ing, beards
1. To furnish with a beard.
2. To confront boldly.

[Middle Englishberd, fromOld Englishbeard; see bhardh-ā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

beardlessadj.
(click for a larger image)
(click for a larger image)
beard
top: on wheat
bottom: on a male turkey's breast

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Beard, Mary Ritter 1876-1958.
Share:
American historian and feminist. She shared her husband Charles's economic view of history and collaborated with him on The Rise of American Civilization (first volume 1927), in which they characterized the Civil War as the "second American Revolution," perpetrated by Northern capitalists over Southern plantation owners for economic gain.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Beard, James Andrew 1903-1985.
Share:
American culinary expert who wrote several authoritative cookbooks focusing on American cuisine.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Beard, Daniel Carter Known as "Dan." 1850-1941.
Share:
American writer and illustrator. In 1905 he founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, which in 1910 merged with the newly formed Boy Scouts of America.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Beard (bîrd), Charles Austin 1874-1948.
Share:
American historian and educator who explored the economic aspects of history in works such as An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution (1913). His view that the document was based on its formulators' economic self-interests profoundly affected the study of American history.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.