beak

[beek] /bik/
noun
1.
the bill of a bird; neb.
2.
any similar horny mouthpart in other animals, as the turtle or duckbill.
3.
anything beaklike or ending in a point, as the spout of a pitcher.
4.
Slang. a person's nose.
5.
Entomology, proboscis (def 3).
6.
Botany. a narrowed or prolonged tip.
7.
Nautical. (formerly) a metal or metal-sheathed projection from the bow of a warship, used to ram enemy vessels; ram; rostrum.
8.
Typography. a serif on the arm of a character, as of a K.
9.
Also called bird's beak. Architecture. a pendant molding forming a drip, as on the soffit of a cornice.
10.
Chiefly British Slang.
  1. a judge; magistrate.
  2. a schoolmaster.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English bec < Old French < Latin beccus < Gaulish
Related forms
beaked
[beekt, bee-kid] /bikt, ˈbi kɪd/ (Show IPA), adjective
beakless, adjective
beaklike, adjective
beaky, adjective
underbeak, noun
Examples from the web for beak
  • Some of the matches were uncanny-the dagger that had to be twisted on the way out, the beak of a war hammer.
  • The snail kite feeds on this species, its beak curving precisely into the snail's whorl.
  • Swans swimming beak to beak have become a common symbol of mate-for-life dedication.
  • In that picture, the peninsula represents the bird's head, and the area between its beak and wattle is the area surveyed.
  • The crow literally put its beak into the kitten's mouth to feed it.
  • The finch's beak, the giraffe's neck and sprinter's toes.
  • The pigeon was thus forced to use its beak to peck at a target-such as a ship, building or specific street corner.
  • But our imported starlings' jaws are wired completely differently-their musculature enables the beak to strongly open.
  • To mimic the beak's deformation resistance, they use a cylindrical metal enclosure.
  • It buzzed around the room, beak pressed to the white roof.
British Dictionary definitions for beak

beak1

/biːk/
noun
1.
the projecting jaws of a bird, covered with a horny sheath; bill
2.
any beaklike mouthpart in other animals, such as turtles
3.
(slang) a person's nose, esp one that is large, pointed, or hooked
4.
any projecting part, such as the pouring lip of a bucket
5.
(architect) the upper surface of a cornice, which slopes out to throw off water
6.
(chem) the part of a still or retort through which vapour passes to the condenser
7.
(nautical) another word for ram (sense 5)
Derived Forms
beaked (biːkt) adjective
beakless, adjective
beaklike, adjective
beaky, adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Old French bec, from Latin beccus, of Gaulish origin

beak2

/biːk/
noun
1.
a Brit slang word for judge, magistrate, headmaster, schoolmaster
Word Origin
C19: originally thieves' jargon
Word Origin and History for beak
n.

mid-13c., "bird's bill," from Old French bec "beak," figuratively "mouth," also "tip or point of a nose, a lance, a ship, a shoe," from Latin beccus (cf. Italian becco, Spanish pico), said by Suetonius ("De vita Caesarum" 18) to be of Gaulish origin, perhaps from Gaulish beccus, possibly related to Celtic stem bacc- "hook." Or there may be a link in Old English becca "pickax, sharp end." Jocular sense of "human nose" is from 1854 (but also was used mid-15c. in the same sense).

Slang definitions & phrases for beak

beak

noun
  1. A mayor, magistrate, or trial judge •Still current in British slang (1830s+)
  2. The nose: The beak-buster in the opening round was the first punch Moore had thrown