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   beard

   /bɪəd/

   noun

   • 1. a growth of hair on the chin and lower cheeks of a man's face: "he had a black 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.
   • 2. a person who carries out a transaction, typically a bet, for someone else in order to conceal the other's identity: informal US "the beard permitted the manipulator to protect the odds"
   • 3. a woman who accompanies a gay man as an escort to a social occasion, in order to help conceal his homosexuality: informal North American "the closeted male and his female ‘beard’"

   verb

   • 1. boldly confront or challenge (someone formidable): "he was afraid to beard the sultan himself"

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

   Derivatives

   • 1. beardless adjective

   Scrabble Points: 8

   • B

     3

   • E

     1

   • A

     1

   • R

     1

   • D

     2

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