side·burns (s?d?bûrnz?)pl.n. Growths of hair on the sides of the face in front of the ears, especially when worn by a man with the rest of the beard shaved off.[Alteration of burnsides.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.sideburns (?sa?d?b??nz) pl n (Hairdressing & Grooming) a man’s whiskers grown down either side of the face in front of the ears. Also called: sideboards, side whiskers or sidelevers (Austral)[C19: variant of burnsides]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014side?burns (?sa?d?b?rnz) n.pl. 1. the projections of the hairline forming a border on the face in front of each ear. 2. side whiskers. [1885?90, Amer.; alter. of burnsides] side?burned`, adj. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.