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to bald

to bald

9 3.9
To lose hair on the head so the skin shows
  • verb
  • /bɔld/
translation icon : quedarse calvo
  • He started to bald in his twenties, worrying about how it would affect his confidence.
  • start to bald

You're not getting that sight back if you go bald.

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Examples

  • The short, balding 45-year-old commander's face turned red as he ordered Emilio confined to his room.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The face is that of a large man, balding, with a mustache and a goatee.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I think I'm going to go bald on top but let my sides grow long.

  • And if you don't have to go bald, why should you, right?

  • Slightly balding, he had the face of a working man, someone who had been out in all weather.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Although I'm balding slightly on top.

  • The man is described as being in his mid-60s, balding, and wearing glasses.

    Blog text (23)
  • Matt, you're gonna start balding at 22.

  • A man in his early forties, balding and starting to paunch, goes to the reception desk.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The younger man sitting beside him was balding, thick-set, and had a pugnacious jut of his jaw.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

balding
vsto bald
1 2.7

Starting to lose hair on the head

refers to losing most or all scalp hair rather than the early stage

Idioms

A pointless attempt that is unlikely to work

Having no hair on the head

Compounds

12 2.9

A large North American bird with a white head and tail and dark brown body, symbol of the United States

bald-faced lie
  • Informal
3 5.4

An obvious statement that is not true and said without shame

1 7.4

A large tree that loses its leaves and grows in swamps in the southeastern United States

7.8

Wood from the tree used for furniture and outdoor building because it resists rot

A large black and white hornet in North America that builds paper nests in trees and defends them

bald-pated
  • Archaic
9.1

Having little or no hair on the top of the head

A large tree with a wide trunk base that grows in swamps of the southern United States

Wood from a cypress tree often used for building in wet places

How Bald

to bald
9 3.9
to shed
68 3.5

Surface Forms

bald infinitive
balded past
balded past participle
balding present participle
balds third person singular

Etymology

Bald (verb) comes from the same old word for 'bare', so to bald simply means to become 'bare' of hair. This links the action to the idea of losing your hair and becoming exposed.