Meanings
plural five o'clock shadows · alternative 5 o'clock shadow · alternative five-o'clock shadow
- countableinformaluncountableA dark appearance on a man's chin and face caused by the slight growth of beard that has occurred since he shaved in the morning.
Men Wanted Without 5 O’Clock Shadow! To get on her wanted list, you must put your best face forward. Avoid “5 o’clock shadow” — that messy afternoon beard-growth. Stay face-neat all day long by shaving with a genuine Gem Blade.
1942 November 30, Life, page 96
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
First use appears c. 1942, US, advertising copy written by Jules B. Singer of the Federal Advertising Agency for the Gem brand of safety razors, made by the American Safety Razor Company.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch stoppelbaard
- stoppelbaardstubble beard
French barbe de trois jours
- barbe de trois joursstubble beard
German Stoppelbart
- Stoppelbartstubble beard
Hungarian délutáni borosta
- délutáni borostastubble beard
Japanese 無精髭
- 無精髭 (bushōhige)stubble beard
Norwegian tre-dagers
- tre-dagersstubble beard
Russian щетина
- щетина (ščetina)stubble beard
Spanish barba de días, barba incipiente
- barba de díasstubble beard
- barba incipientestubble beard
Cite this entry
five o'clock shadow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/five%20o'clock%20shadow
“five o'clock shadow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/five%20o'clock%20shadow. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “five o'clock shadow,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/five%20o'clock%20shadow.
Source: five o'clock shadow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.