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

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beater beaters

In Yang Hyun-jun's absence - and week on week he appears to be spoken about as an absent world beater - James Forrest is the best winger they have.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

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

“We went to Yakima, she bought an old beater, fixed it up, and rented some rooms in there,” he said.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 20, 2024

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

“Look at me, Jake,” shouted Kojo right before he shot the buzzer beater to seal the game.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

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

British freestyle skiing and snowboarding is already blessed with world beaters in Mia Brookes, Charlotte Bankes and Zoe Atkin.

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 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

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