beater

American  

[bee-ter] / ˈbi tər /

noun

beaters plural

1. a person or thing that beats.

2. an implement or device for beating something (usually used in combination).

   the two beaters on an electric mixer;

   an old-fashioned rug beater that loosens dirt with every forceful whack.

3. Slang: Offensive. wifebeater.

4. Informal. an old vehicle that is in poor condition.

   I drive a beater that I bought for $2,000.

5. Hunting. a person who rouses or drives game from cover.

   The beater flushed a covey of grouse.

6. Papermaking. a machine for beating half-stuff to pulp by separating and shortening the fibers to produce a gelatinous mass.

7. Textiles. reed.

8. Newfoundland. a young seal, usually a month to six weeks old, having completely or almost completely shed its initial white fur.

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beater British  

/ ˈbiːtə /

noun

1. a person who beats or hammers

   a panel beater

2. an instrument or device used for beating

   a carpet beater

3. a person who rouses wild game from woodland, undergrowth, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• beaters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of beater

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English beter, better; see origin at beat, -er ¹; the seals in beater def. 8 are so named for their beating of the water with their flippers as they learn to swim

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beater beaters

On Sunday Pitino’s fifth-seeded, 30-6 St. John’s eked out a 67-65 buzzer beater over fourth-seed Kansas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

His buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter Thursday propelled a comeback against the Knicks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025

I didn’t have the cash on hand, and I couldn’t trust putting my family in an old beater.

From Slate ● Mar. 9, 2024

So it seems appropriate that John drives not a souped-up sports car but a true beater, modified to handle the wear and tear of the apocalypse.

From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

The truck was a beater, but it could surely make the trip.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

When Matthew Fuller needed a new car in February, he started by looking around for cheap beaters.

From MarketWatch ● May 2, 2026

In 1683 Shah Sulayman of Persia staged a hunt that reportedly required 80,000 beaters and lasted from early May to July.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

Wildfire beaters were later used to tackle flames that destroyed an area of grassland near Wingletye Lane, Hornchurch, while firefighters brought a third fire under control at Walthamstow Marshes.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2025

They came on Cervelos and Bianchis, but also fixies and heavy steel beaters.

From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024

No more sounds of bark beaters everywhere, pounding out bark cloth from dawn until after dusk every day!

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond