beak
noun
ˈbēk 
1
a
: the bill of a bird
especially : a strong short broad bill
b(1)
: the elongated sucking mouth of some insects (such as the true bugs)
(2)
: any of various rigid projecting mouth structures (as of a turtle)
c
: the human nose
2
: a pointed structure or formation:
a
: a metal-pointed beam projecting from the bow especially of an ancient galley for piercing an enemy ship
b
: the spout of a vessel
c
: a continuous slight architectural projection ending in an arris see molding illustration
d
: a process suggesting the beak of a bird
3
chiefly British
a
: magistrate
b
: headmaster
beaked
ˈbēkt
adjective beaky
ˈbē-kē
adjective 
Synonyms
- bill
- neb
- nib
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the beak of a hawk an actor with a big beak
Recent Examples on the Web On Sunday, Blake posted a photo to Instagram of her kissing Emmanuel on the beak. 
Elliot Lewis, NBC News, 19 July 2022 But a new study suggests that their head and beak act like a stiff hammer for optimal pecking performance rather a shock-absorbing system to cushion the brain. Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 14 July 2022 If the skull really was absorbing shocks, then upon each peck, the brain should decelerate far less than the beak—just as when a car hits a bump, its body jerks less than its wheels do. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 14 July 2022 For the study, Dr. Hughes and her colleagues looked at a set of physical traits — body size, beak dimension and shape, and leg and wing length — extracted from 8,455 avian species in natural history museum collections. New York Times, 21 July 2022 The swan began to slowly raise its head: a pink-violet beak with a crimson edge and a blue-violet neck, each feather of which shimmered in the sun. Vladimir Sorokin, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022 There is the Cassia crossbill, a finch with a twisty beak found in a single county in Idaho. New York Times, 3 Mar. 2022 As for cruel, one afternoon a crow buzzed through our backyard, something big and squirming in its beak. John Kelly, Washington Post, 30 May 2022 Some use their hard beak to drill into the shells of clams. Erin Spencer, The Conversation, 9 May 2022 See More
Elliot Lewis, NBC News, 19 July 2022 But a new study suggests that their head and beak act like a stiff hammer for optimal pecking performance rather a shock-absorbing system to cushion the brain. Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 14 July 2022 If the skull really was absorbing shocks, then upon each peck, the brain should decelerate far less than the beak—just as when a car hits a bump, its body jerks less than its wheels do. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 14 July 2022 For the study, Dr. Hughes and her colleagues looked at a set of physical traits — body size, beak dimension and shape, and leg and wing length — extracted from 8,455 avian species in natural history museum collections. New York Times, 21 July 2022 The swan began to slowly raise its head: a pink-violet beak with a crimson edge and a blue-violet neck, each feather of which shimmered in the sun. Vladimir Sorokin, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022 There is the Cassia crossbill, a finch with a twisty beak found in a single county in Idaho. New York Times, 3 Mar. 2022 As for cruel, one afternoon a crow buzzed through our backyard, something big and squirming in its beak. John Kelly, Washington Post, 30 May 2022 Some use their hard beak to drill into the shells of clams. Erin Spencer, The Conversation, 9 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English bec, from Anglo-French, from Latin beccus, of Gaulish origin
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Kids Definition
beak
noun
ˈbēk
1
: the bill of a bird
an eagle's beak
2
: a part shaped like or resembling a bird's bill a turtle's beak
beak
noun
1
as in mouth
the jaws of a bird together with their hornlike covering the bird cracked the walnut shell with its beak and ate its nut Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- mouth
- mandible
- muzzle
- neb
- bill
- nib
- maw
- maxilla
2
as in snout
the part of the face bearing the nostrils and nasal cavity the man's prominent beak gives him a somewhat aquiline appearance Synonyms & Similar Words
- snout
- nose
- proboscis
- schnozzle
- honker
- nozzle
- schnoz
- schnozz
- conk
- smeller
- neb
- snoot
- pug
- pugnose
3
as in judge
chiefly British a public official having authority to decide questions of law received a stiff sentence from one of the harshest beaks in all of London Synonyms & Similar Words
- judge
- bench
- court
- chief justice
- magistrate
- circuit judge
- jurist
- adjudicator
- squire
- justice
- auditor
- master
- justice of the peace
- jurisconsult
- jurisprudent