ENGLISH
REFERENCE

beauty

n.
US //ˈbjuti// UK //bjˈuːti// beau·ty
  1. 1 attractive quality (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the quality of being very pleasing to look at or listen to.

    the quality of being aesthetically pleasing to the senses or the mind. Uncountable in this general sense.

    Example

    The natural beauty of the mountains took our breath away.

    Example

    Critics often debate whether the beauty of a landscape is inherent in the terrain or merely a projection of the observer's cultural expectations.
  2. 2 an attractive person (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a person, usually a woman, who is very beautiful.

    a person who is exceptionally attractive. Countable; often used in literary or slightly dated contexts.

    Example

    She was considered a great beauty in her youth.

    Example

    The portrait captured the famous beauty at the height of her social influence, before she retired from public life.
Show 2 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 a clever advantage (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the best or most useful part of something.

    the particular advantage, excellence, or cleverness of a specific feature or plan.

    Example

    The beauty of this plan is that it costs almost nothing.

    Example

    The beauty of the new software architecture lies in its modularity, which allows developers to update individual components without risking a total system failure.
  2. 4 an excellent example (n.)
    C1 Advanced Informal

    something that is a very good or impressive example of its kind.

    an outstanding or remarkable specimen of something. Often used for physical objects or even mistakes.

    Example

    That old car is a real beauty; it looks brand new.

    Example

    He showed me his collection of antique watches, pointing out one gold beauty that had been manufactured in the late nineteenth century.
Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.? Proto-Italic *dwenos Old Latin duenos Old Latin duonusder. Old Latin *duenelos Vulgar Latin bellus Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Vulgar Latin -tās Vulgar Latin *bellitātem Anglo-Norman biautébor. Middle English beaute English beauty From Middle English bewty, bewte, beaute, bealte, from Anglo-Norman and Old French beauté (early Old French spelling biauté), from Vulgar Latin *bellitātem (“beauty”), from Latin bellus (“beautiful, fair”); see beau. In this sense, mostly displaced native Old English fæġernes, whence Modern English fairness.

Word family
Idioms3 entries

© 2026 English Reference