a growth of hair on the chin and lower cheeks of a man's face

he had a black beard

three days' growth of beard

a person who carries out a transaction, typically a bet, for someone else in order to conceal the other's identity

the beard permitted the manipulator to protect the odds

a woman who accompanies a gay man as an escort to a social occasion, in order to help conceal his homosexuality

the closeted male and his female ‘beard’

boldly confront or challenge (someone formidable)

he was afraid to beard the sultan himself