<B>beard, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the hair growing on a man's face, especially on his chin and cheeks. <DD><B> 2. </B>something resembling or suggesting this. The chin tuft of a goat is a beard; so are the stiff hairs around the beak of a bird. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S. Slang.) a person who wears a beard. <BR> <I>Ex. Every middle-aged beard and his brother are out picketing for peace these days (Time).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the hairs on the heads of plants like oats, barley, and wheat; awns. <DD><B> 5. </B>a plushlike growth on parts of certain flowers, as on certain varieties of iris. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Printing.) the slanting area of a printing type from the face to the shoulder. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Obsolete.) the barb of an arrow or fishhook. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to face boldly; defy. <BR> <I>Ex. The hero dared to beard the lion in his den. Two noncommissioned officers appeared to beard him in his house one day, declaring he had insulted their rank (Edmund Wilson).</I> (SYN) confront. <DD><B> 2. </B>to take by the beard. adj. <B>beardlike.</B> </DL>
<B>beardless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>without a beard. <DD><B> 2. </B>youthful or immature. (SYN) young, callow. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Botany.) without beard or awn. <BR> <I>Ex. beardless wheat.</I> noun <B>beardlessness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="beardlichen">
<B>beard lichen</B> or <B>moss,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a grayish-green lichen which grows on trees and hangs downward so as to give the appearance of a beard. </DL>
<A NAME="beardtongue">
<B>beardtongue, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a penstemon, a plant of the figwort family. </DL>
<A NAME="bearer">
<B>bearer, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person or thing that carries or brings. <BR> <I>Ex. The messenger was a bearer of good news, a victory!</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who holds or presents a check, draft, or note for payment. <BR> <I>Ex. Please pay the bearer the sum of ten dollars.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a tree or plant that produces fruit or flowers. <BR> <I>Ex. This apple tree is a good bearer.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the holder of a rank or office. <DD><B> 5. </B><B>=pallbearer.</B> <DD><I>adj. </I> (Finance.) negotiable by the bearer. <BR> <I>Ex. bearer securities.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="beargarden">
<B>bear garden,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Historical.) a place for baiting bears and other rough sports. <DD><B> 2. </B>a place where there is much noise and confusion. </DL>
<A NAME="beargrass">
<B>bear grass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various yuccas of the southern and western United States, having grasslike foliage. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various plants of the western United States, having somewhat similar foliage, as a species of the camass of Oregon. </DL>
<A NAME="bearhug">
<B>bear hug,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a crushing grasp of its victim by the forelegs of a bear. <DD><B> 2. </B>a wrestling hold patterned on this, in which pressure is steadily applied to force the air out of the lungs. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) any rough or powerful embrace. <BR> <I>Ex. The two friends greeted each other with bear hugs and much boisterous laughter.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bearing">
<B>bearing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>way of standing, sitting, walking, or behaving; manner. <BR> <I>Ex. A general should have a military bearing.</I> (SYN) deportment, behavior, demeanor. <DD><B> 2. </B>connection in thought or meaning; relation. <BR> <I>Ex. His foolish question has no bearing on the problem.</I> (SYN) reference. <DD><B> 3. </B>part of a machine on or in which another part moves. A bearing supports the moving part and reduces friction by turning with the motion. <DD><B> 4. </B>a supporting part, such as in a structure. <DD><B> 5a. </B>the act, power, or time of producing or bringing forth. <BR> <I>Ex. a tree past bearing.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>that which is produced; fruit; crop. <DD><B> 6. </B>power of sustaining; supporting; endurance. <BR> <I>Ex. Considering the government of England as totally without morality, and insolent beyond bearing (Thomas Jefferson).</I> (SYN) toleration. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Heraldry.) a single device on a coat of arms; charge. <BR><I>expr. <B>bearings,</B> </I>position in relation to other things; direction. <BR> <I>Ex. Having no compass, the sailor got his bearings from the stars.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>lose one's bearings,</B> </I>to go astray. <BR> <I>Ex. They lost their bearings in a violent snowstorm.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bearingmetal">
<B>bearing metal,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various alloys used for bearings, such as babbitt. </DL>
<A NAME="bearingrein">
<B>bearing rein,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the rein by which the head of a horse is held up; checkrein. </DL>
<A NAME="bearish">
<B>bearish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>like a bear in manner or temper; rough or surly. <DD><B> 2. </B>aiming at or tending to lower prices in the stock market or other financial market. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) not hopeful or confident; pessimistic. <BR> <I>Ex. He is now bearish on the whole F-104G program (New York Times).</I> adv. <B>bearishly.</B> noun <B>bearishness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="bearlead">
<B>bear-lead, </B>transitive verb, <B>-led,</B> <B>-leading.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) to lead or conduct as if by a chain; compel to follow. <BR> <I>Ex. The Establishment, bear-led by the Hearst Press, had decided that this turbulent man ... must, by any hook or crook, go (Listener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bearleader">
<B>bear leader,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(formerly) a traveling tutor (with allusion to his leading his young, wealthy charges as if they were trained bears). <DD><B> 2. </B>(British.) one who bear-leads; a forceful leader or guide. <BR> <I>Ex. At last it became clear that they [the Socialists] had to get out or submit to having the Communist minority as bear leader (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bearmarket">
<B>bear market,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a market in which more traders on a stock exchange want to sell than to buy, with the result that prices of stocks fall. </DL>
<A NAME="bearnaisesauce">
<B>bearnaise sauce,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sauce made from or in the fashion of hollandaise sauce, but flavored especially with tarragon, chervil, and shallots, served with grilled meat or fish. </DL>
<A NAME="bearsbreech">
<B>bear's-breech, </B>noun. =acanthus.</DL>
<A NAME="bearsear">
<B>bear's-ear, </B>noun. =auricula.</DL>
<A NAME="bearsfoot">
<B>bear's-foot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a common name for various plants, such as a medicinal species of hellebore and the lady's-mantle. </DL>
<A NAME="bearsheadmushroom">
<B>bear's head mushroom,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an edible mushroom found in clumps on the trunks of trees. </DL>
<A NAME="bearskin">
<B>bearskin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the skin of a bear with the fur on it. <DD><B> b. </B>a rug, blanket, or the like, made from this. <DD><B> 2. </B>a tall, black fur cap worn by some soldiers and drum majors, especially in the British Army. The bearskin is part of the dress uniform of the household troops of the British sovereign. <DD><B> 3. </B>a shaggy kind of woolen cloth used for overcoats. </DL>
<A NAME="bearwood">
<B>bearwood, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> cascara, a kind of buckthorn. </DL>
<A NAME="beast">
<B>beast, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>any four-footed animal. Lions, bears, cows, and horses are beasts. <DD><B> b. </B>any animal except man. <BR> <I>Ex. Both man and beast fled before the flames of the forest fire.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>a coarse, dirty, or brutal person; brute. <BR> <I>Ex. Oh you beast, Oh faithless Coward, oh dishonest wretch (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a human being considered to resemble an animal in lack of self-control, etc.. <BR> <I>Ex. Till Morn' sends stagg'ring Home a Drunken Beast (Sir Richard Steele).</I> adj. <B>beastlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="beastepic">
<B>beast epic,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a long narrative poem in which the characters are animals who act like people. <BR> <I>Ex. Two of the best-known beast epics are the Story of Reynard the Fox and Chicken Little (Burton Rascoe).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="beastie">
<B>beastie, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal, originally Scottish.) a small animal, as a mouse. <BR> <I>Ex. Wee, sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie (Robert Burns).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="beastly">
<B>beastly, </B>adjective, <B>-lier,</B> <B>-liest,</B> adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>like a beast; coarse, dirty, or brutal; vile. <BR> <I>Ex. The beastly behavior of the savages frightened their prisoners.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) very bad or irritating; unpleasant; disgusting. <BR> <I>Ex. I have a beastly headache.</I> <DD><I>adv. </I> (Informal.) very; unpleasantly. <BR> <I>Ex. Don't be so beastly inquisitive.</I> noun <B>beastliness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="beastofburden">
<B>beast of burden,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an animal used for carrying or pulling heavy loads. </DL>
<A NAME="beastofprey">
<B>beast of prey,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an animal that kills other animals for food. </DL>
