beau

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beau

boyfriend of a girl or woman: I think my sister has a beau.

Not to be confused with:

bow – something bent, curved, or arched; a knot usually having two ends and two loops: She tied her sash into a bow.

beau

(bō)

n. pl. beaus or beaux (bōz)

1. A male companion or friend with whom one has a sexual or romantic relationship.

2. A dandy; a fop.

[French, from beau, bel, handsome, from Latin bellus; see deu- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

beau

(bəʊ)

n, pl beaux (bəʊ; bəʊz) or beaus (bəʊz)

1. a lover, sweetheart, or escort of a girl or woman

2. a man who is greatly concerned with his clothes and appearance; dandy

[C17: from French, from Old French biau, from Latin bellus handsome, charming]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

beau

(boʊ)

n., pl. beaus, beaux (bōz).

1. a girl's or woman's sweetheart.

2. a dandy; fop.

[1250–1300; Middle English < French < Latin bellus beautiful]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	beau - a man who is the lover of a girl or young woman; "if I'd known he was her boyfriend I wouldn't have asked" boyfriend, swain, young man, fellow lover - a person who loves someone or is loved by someone adult male, man - an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman); "there were two women and six men on the bus"
	2.	beau - a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance fashion plate, fop, gallant, dandy, dude, clotheshorse, sheik, swell coxcomb, cockscomb - a conceited dandy who is overly impressed by his own accomplishments macaroni - a British dandy in the 18th century who affected Continental mannerisms; "Yankee Doodle stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni" adult male, man - an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman); "there were two women and six men on the bus"

beau

noun (Chiefly U.S.) boyfriend, man, guy (informal), date, lover, young man, steady, escort, admirer, fiancé, sweetheart, suitor, swain, toy boy, leman (archaic), fancy man (slang) She appeared with her new beau.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

beau

noun

1. A man who is the favored companion of a woman:

boyfriend.

Informal: fellow.

2. A man who courts a woman:

admirer, courter, suitor, swain, wooer.

Translations

galánšvihák

hienostelijakeikaripoikaystävä

sigisbée

beau

[bəʊ]

A. N (beaus, beaux (pl)) [bəʊz] (= fop) → petimetre m, dandy m; (= ladies' man) → galán m; (= suitor) → pretendiente m; (= sweetheart) → novio m

B. ADJ beau ideal → lo bello ideal; (= person) → tipo m ideal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

beau

[ˈbəʊ] [beaux] [ˈbəʊ ˈbəʊz ˈbəʊ ˈbəʊz] (pl) [beaus] [ˈbəʊz] (pl) n (old-fashioned) (= boyfriend, lover) → petit ami m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

beau

n (old)

(= dandy) → Beau m (dated)

(= suitor) → Galan m (dated), → Kavalier m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in classic literature ?

Rose at Exeter, a prodigious smart young man, quite a beau, clerk to Mr.

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One of his poems tells how Cowper scolded his spaniel Beau for killing a little baby bird "not because you were hungry," says the poet, "but out of naughtiness." Here is Beau's reply--

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(CECILY: "I haven't ANY beau! I don't mean to think of such a thing for at least eight years yet!")

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Le coeur d'un beau jeune homme est souvent difforme.

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This was like removing to a fashionable square, or living in a beau quartier of a capital.

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I hoped you would have taken him for your beau, and left dear Harry to me.'

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Il fait a present la pluie et le beau temps."* He's too proud for anything.

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Maggie perceived that here was the beau ideal of a man.

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"Much better, and in extremely good quarters," said George; but, turning quickly to Miss Osgood, he added, "So, Miss Maria, your beau has condescended to walk with you at last?"

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"Ruby Gillis says she means to have a beau as soon as she's fifteen," said Diana.

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Diana writes me that Dora has a beau. Just think of it--that child!"

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Instructed by thee, some books, like quacks, impose on the world by promising wonders; while others turn beaus, and trust all their merits to a gilded outside.