beau C2+ Topic:People & Society US /boʊ/ UK /bəʊ/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like ba /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/ Sounds like bah /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/ Meanings 1 noun a woman's male admirer or boyfriend; a dandy She arrived at the ball on the arm of her latest beau. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a woman's male admirer or... boyfriendadmirersuitorsweetheartdandyfopgallant Word family Related forms bellebeautybeautiful Appears in Proverbs (1) See all Il faut souffrir pour ?tre beau Etymology AI details From French beau ('handsome, fine'), from Latin bellus ('pretty, fine'). beau French bellus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # beau **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /boʊ/ **IPA (UK):** /bəʊ/ ## Meanings 1. a woman's male admirer or boyfriend; a dandy ## Examples - She arrived at the ball on the arm of her latest beau. ## Synonyms - boyfriend - admirer - suitor - sweetheart - dandy - fop - gallant ## Related Forms - belle - beauty - beautiful ## Roots and Affixes - Root: beau - Root: bellus ## Etymology From French beau ('handsome, fine'), from Latin bellus ('pretty, fine'). ## AI Etymology Beau is from French beau ('handsome, fine'), from Latin bellus ('pretty, fine'). In present-day use, it means a woman's male admirer or boyfriend; a dandy. Related vocabulary includes belle, beauty, and beautiful. ## Topics - People & Society markdown