beak

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc.
2. (countable, uncountable)A similar pointed structure forming the nose and mouth of various animals, such as turtles, platypuses, whales, etc.
3. (countable, uncountable)The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera.
4. (countable, uncountable)The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve.
5. (countable, uncountable)The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal.
6. (countable, uncountable)Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant.
7. (broadly, countable, uncountable)Anything projecting or ending in a point like a beak, such as a promontory of land.

   “At the townes end, Cuddenbeak, an ancient house of the Bishops, from a well aduanced Promontory, which intituled it Beak”

8. (broadly, countable, uncountable)A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off.
9. (broadly, countable, uncountable)A toe clip.
10. (broadly, countable, uncountable)That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee.

    “Holonyms: bow, stem, forestem, prow, prore < ship < vessel”

11. (broadly, countable, uncountable)A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, used as a ram to pierce the vessel of an enemy.

    “Holonyms: bow, stem, forestem, prow, prore < ship < vessel”

12. (broadly, countable, uncountable)Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Libythea, notable for the beak-like elongation on their heads.
13. (countable, slang, uncountable)A person's nose, especially one that is large and pointed.

    “"You mind your own business, curse you!" growled Silas. "I've told you before now not to push that long, sheeny beak of yours into my affairs. If you was a man I'd know better how to speak to you."”

14. (Eastern, Ontario, countable, especially, slang, uncountable)A person's mouth.

    “Shut your beak!”

    “'Did you think that bloody question up by yourself, pal?' Seánie snapped, and the guy opened and closed his beak a few times — I suppose he must have been surprised that a priest would talk like that.”

    “Typical Yankee detractor, nize your beak.”

15. (Southern-England, slang, uncountable)Cocaine.

    “I just stay in bed till about 2pm. Then I sit around and smoke weed. Sometimes we do beak [cocaine] or garys [ecstasy or MDMA] but I don't do that on the street because your jaw swings like fuck and you would need a good kip half the time. I do it every weekend though and it's fucking great. I'm being good tonight. I'll have a Bud and a smoke.”

16. (British, slang)A justice of the peace; a magistrate.

    “They take up men, Dick, for going about in women's clothes, and vice versaw, I suppose. You'll bail me, old fellaa, if I have to make my bow to the beak, won't you?”

    “Harry looked rather bulky, you know, Tom, and the slop (policeman) says, 'Hallo, what you got here?' and by [blank] he took us both before the beak.”

    “Thus does history repeat itself, and that foolish beak, with Tom Linden before him, was but Felix judging Paul.”

    “That an unnamed 22-year-old will be up before the Colchester beak in March under the Road Traffic Act's recherché section 3 – covering inconsiderate driving and with a maximum fine of £5,000 – may at first sight seem a facetious use of court resources.”

    “In 1854, ill health forced Henry [Fielding] to stop running the organisation that later became the Bow Street Runners, London's first professional police force, and John [Fielding] took over. This despite having lost his sight in a naval accident at the age of 19. He was known as the Blind Beak, and was said to be able to recognise as many as 3,000 criminals by their voices alone.”

17. (slang)A schoolmaster (originally, at Eton).

    “It’s easy enough to be a beak when you’re young and athletic, and can offer the latest University smattering. The difficulty is to keep your place when you get old and stiff, and younger smatterers are pushing up behind you. Crawl into a boarding-house and you’re safe. A master’s life is frightfully tragic.”

verb

1. (transitive)To strike with the beak.
2. (transitive)To seize with the beak.
3. (Northern-Ireland, intransitive)To play truant.

   “Knew the Jampot well. I spent many an afternoon while I was beaking school in that fine establishment.”

   “I was living at home at her age, by and large doing what my parents told me, apart from beaking school.”