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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

beak.

A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/biːk/UK
  1. A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A similar pointed structure forming the nose and mouth of various animals, such as turtles, platypuses, whales, etc.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera.

    countable · uncountable
  4. The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve.

    countable · uncountable
  5. The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal.

    countable · uncountable
  6. Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant.

    countable · uncountable
  7. Anything projecting or ending in a point like a beak, such as a promontory of land.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  8. A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  9. A toe clip.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  10. That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  11. A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, used as a ram to pierce the vessel of an enemy.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  12. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Libythea, notable for the beak-like elongation on their heads.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  13. A person's nose, especially one that is large and pointed.

    countable · slang · uncountable
  14. A person's mouth.

    Eastern · Ontario · countable · especially · slang · uncountable
    Shut your beak!
  15. Cocaine.

    Southern-England · slang · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English bec, borrowed from Anglo-Norman bec, Old French bec, from Latin beccus, from Gaulish *bekkos, from Proto-Celtic *bekkos (“beak, snout”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bak-, *baḱ- (“pointed stick, peg”). Cognate with Breton beg (“beak”). Compare Saterland Frisian Bäk (“mouth; muzzle; beak”); Dutch bek (“beak; bill; neb”).

verb/biːk/UK
  1. To strike with the beak.

    transitive
  2. To seize with the beak.

    transitive
  3. To play truant.

    Northern-Ireland · intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English bec, borrowed from Anglo-Norman bec, Old French bec, from Latin beccus, from Gaulish *bekkos, from Proto-Celtic *bekkos (“beak, snout”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bak-, *baḱ- (“pointed stick, peg”). Cognate with Breton beg (“beak”). Compare Saterland Frisian Bäk (“mouth; muzzle; beak”); Dutch bek (“beak; bill; neb”).

noun
  1. A justice of the peace; a magistrate.

    UK · slang
  2. A schoolmaster (originally, at Eton).

    slang
Where this word comes from

Unknown; originally cant; first recorded in 17thC; probably related to obsolete cant beck "constable".

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.