mustached

IPA/ˈmʌstæʃt/
KK[mˈʌstˌæʃt]IPA/ˈmʌstæʃt/

mustached — adjective

  • mustachedpositive
  • more mustachedcomparative
  • most mustachedsuperlative

1. with hair grown above the upper lip

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

with hair grown above the upper lip

Example

A mustached guard checked Owen's ticket at the museum door.

attributive use: mustached + job noun

In the old photo, Sumin's mustached grandfather smiled beside the cake.

family-photo description

Common collocations
  • mustached guard
  • mustached grandfather
  • mustached actor
  • mustached cook
  • mustached boxer
Synonyms
  • moustached

    same meaning, but this is the more common British spelling

  • mustachioed

    more literary and often suggests a larger or showier mustache

  • bearded

    broader: includes hair on the chin and jaw, not only above the lip

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

mustached + noun

Usage Note

Usually placed before a noun to describe a person, face, or character in a picture or story. For plain statement use, English often prefers 'has a mustache' instead of putting the adjective after 'be'.

Common Mistakes

The singer is mustached.
The singer has a mustache.' or 'The mustached singer waved.
English usually uses this adjective before a noun, not after 'be'.
a mustached lip
a mustached man' or 'a mustached face
the word describes the person or face, not the lip itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Mustached' and 'moustached' mean the same thing: both describe someone with hair above the upper lip. The difference is mainly spelling, with 'mustached' preferred in American English and 'moustached' more common in British English. 'Mustachioed' is more colourful and literary, and it often suggests a large, stylish, or dramatic mustache rather than an ordinary one. 'Clean-shaven' is the natural opposite, used for a face without visible facial hair. In everyday writing, people often avoid all three adjective forms and simply say that someone 'has a mustache', especially after the verb 'be'.

mustached ↗moustached ↗mustachioed ↗clean-shaven ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • mustached man
  • mustached face
  • mustached stranger

Adverbs

  • heavily mustached

Phrases

  • a mustached actor
  • a mustached old man

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

Built in English from the noun 'mustache' plus the adjective-forming ending '-ed', meaning 'having that feature'. The noun itself came into English through French from older Mediterranean forms that go back to Greek 'mystax', meaning the upper lip or the hair on it.