Dictionary-Definition.com :: Beak definition

Definition of 'beak'

noun

Beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)

noun

Horny projecting mouth of a bird [syn: beak, bill, neb, nib, pecker]

noun

A beaklike, tapering tip on certain plant structures

noun

Informal terms for the nose [syn: beak, honker, hooter, nozzle, snoot, snout, schnozzle, schnoz]

verb

Hit lightly with a picking motion [syn: peck, pick, beak]

From: GCIDE

Beak \Beak\ (b[=e]k), n. [OE. bek, F. bec, fr. Celtic; cf. Gael. & Ir. bac, bacc, hook, W. bach.]
1. (Zool.) (a) The bill or nib of a bird, consisting of a horny sheath, covering the jaws. The form varies much according to the food and habits of the bird, and is largely used in the classification of birds. (b) A similar bill in other animals, as the turtles. (c) The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects, and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. (d) The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. (e) The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal. [1913 Webster]
2. Anything projecting or ending in a point, like a beak, as a promontory of land. --Carew. [1913 Webster]
3. (Antiq.) A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, in order to pierce the vessel of an enemy; a beakhead. [1913 Webster]
4. (Naut.) That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee. [1913 Webster]
5. (Arch.) A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off. [1913 Webster]
6. (Bot.) Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant. [1913 Webster]
7. (Far.) A toe clip. See Clip, n. (Far.). [1913 Webster]
8. A magistrate or policeman. [Slang, Eng.] [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Clip \Clip\, n.
1. An embrace. --Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster]
2. A cutting; a shearing. [1913 Webster]
3. The product of a single shearing of sheep; a season's crop of wool. [1913 Webster]
4. A clasp or holder for letters, papers, etc. [1913 Webster]
5. An embracing strap for holding parts together; the iron strap, with loop, at the ends of a whiffletree. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
6. (Far.) A projecting flange on the upper edge of a horseshoe, turned up so as to embrace the lower part of the hoof; -- called also toe clip and beak. --Youatt. [1913 Webster]
7. A blow or stroke with the hand; as, he hit him a clip. [Colloq. U. S.] [1913 Webster]
8. (Mach.) A part, attachment, or appendage, for seizing, clasping, or holding, an object, as a cable, etc. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
9. (Angling) A gaff or hook for landing the fish, as in salmon fishing. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
10. A rapid gait. "A three-minute clip." --Kipling. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]