What does "goatee" mean?

A beard trimmed to grow only at the center of the chin.

What is a synonym for "goatee"?

Common synonyms include: beard, beaver, bristle, down, imperial, peach fuzz.

//ˌɡoʊˈtiː// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A beard trimmed to grow only at the center of the chin.
"One person sports a goatee, the hair refusing to grow on the sides of his physiognomy; the chin of another is as smooth as a baby's cheek,—he contents himself with a modest moustache and a faint attempt at an imperial; while a few of the upper classes rejoice in all the varieties."
2
a small chin beard trimmed to a point; named for its resemblance to a goat's beard wordnet

"Tom says he might dye his goatee red and green for Christmas."

From goat + -ee (diminutive suffix), referring to the tuft of hair on the chin of many domestic goats.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.