1. Horny projecting mouth of a bird
   "The heron's long, sharp beak was perfect for spearing fish";
   - bill, neb, nib, pecker
    
2. Beaklike mouth of animals other than birds (e.g., turtles)
   "The snapping turtle's powerful beak could easily break a finger"
    
3. [informal] The organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
   "he has a cold in the beak";
   - nose, olfactory organ, honker [informal], hooter [informal], nozzle [informal], snoot [informal], snout [informal], schnozzle [informal], schnoz [informal], conk [Brit, informal]
    
4. A beaklike, tapering tip on certain plant structures
   "The beak of the maple seed helps it to spiral through the air as it falls"
    
5. [Brit, informal] A lay judge or civil authority who administers the law (especially one who conducts a court dealing with minor offences)
   "The beak heard cases in the local court";
   - magistrate
    
6. (nautical) the metal point fixed on the bows of a war galley, used as a ram
   "The ancient warship's beak was designed to puncture enemy vessels"

1. Hit lightly with a picking motion
   "The woodpecker beaked the tree trunk in search of insects";
   - peck, pick

Derived forms: beaked, beaking, beaks

Type of: chemoreceptor, judge, jurist, justice, mouth, strike, tip

Part of: bird, birdie [informal], face, human face, upper respiratory tract

Encyclopedia: Beak, Daniel