beauty

Noun

beauty (countable and uncountable, plural beauties)

1. (uncountable) The quality of being (especially visually) attractive, pleasing, fine or good-looking; comeliness.
   • A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: / Its loveliness increases; it will never / Pass into nothingness; but still will keep / A bower quiet for us, and a sleep / Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.1818, John Keats, “Book I”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] T[homas] Miller, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 3, lines 1–5
   • “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.1819 May, John Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, page 116

   Synonyms:

   good-lookingness

2. Someone who is beautiful.
   • Brigitte Bardot was a renowned beauty.
   • The website calls a vote for Alyona a vote against "beauties who do not look natural and who cannot be distinguished from each other" and rails against the "imposed standards" of 90-60-90 vital statistics, and "cigarettes with out nicotine and coffee without caffeine".2004 April 13, Nick Paton Walsh, “Ample Alyona shakes up Russian pageant”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms:

   belle

3. (in plural) Those aspects or elements that make someone or something beautiful.
   • There the roſy-finger'd Spring, by the liquid mirror of a cryſtalline pool, was attiring her fair daughters in ſeven-fold ornaments, while the love-whiſpering breezes ſtole kiſſes as they paſſed, and fanned their glowing beauties.1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iii
   • Another Fairy, Argea, entertains (c. xxxiii.) a king, queen, knight and ladies, in a stately palace. At night they retire to magnificent chambers, and in the morning they find themselves lying in a mead, some under trees, others on the sides of a stream, with more of the beauties of the ladies...1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 541
4. Something that is particularly good or pleasing.
   • What a goal! That was a real beauty!
5. An excellent or egregious example of something.
   • He got into a fight and ended up with two black eyes – two real beauties!
6. The excellence or genius of a scheme or decision.
   • The beauty of the deal is it costs nothing!
7. (obsolete, particle) A beauty quark (now called bottom quark).
8. Beauty treatment; cosmetology.
   • a hair and beauty salon
   • When the beauty team departs the set, the AD will say, “Let’s go on a bell.” A bell sounds throughout the stage, and […]2013, Bethany Rooney, Mary Lou Belli, Directors Tell the Story, page 184
9. (obsolete) Prevailing style or taste; rage; fashion.
   • Menander in the comedy brings in a man turning his wife from his house, because she stained her hair yellow, which was then the beauty.1653, “Twenty-five Sermons Preached at Golden Grove; Being for the Winter Half-year, […]: Sermon XVIII. [The Marriage Ring; or, The Mysteriousness and Duties of Marriage.] Part II.”, in Reginald...
10. (archaic, in plural) Beautiful passages or extracts of poetry.

Interjection

1. (Canada) Thanks!
2. (Canada) Cool!
   • It's the long weekend. Beauty!

Adjective

beauty (comparative more beauty, superlative most beauty or (archaic, poetic) beautiest)

1. (archaic, poetic) Possessing beauty; beautiful.
2. (Canada) Of high quality, well done.
   • He made a beauty pass through the neutral zone.

Verb

beauty (third-person singular simple present beauties, present participle beautying, simple past and past participle beautied)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To make beautiful.