beefeater
Americannoun
-
a yeoman of the English royal guard or a warder of the Tower of London.
-
Informal. an Englishman.
-
a person who eats beef.
noun
Etymology
Origin of beefeater
First recorded in 1600–10; beef + eat ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Chief beefeater Peter McGowren says it's the quietest the tower ever has been.
From Fox News • May 21, 2020
The tradition of tall tales spun by the yeoman warder, or beefeater, guides is as old as the Line of Kings itself.
From The Guardian • Jul. 7, 2013
As the ruddy little Crispin who becomes Lord Mayor of London, Whitford Kane personifies all the industry, sanity and lustiness of a jolly beefeater.
From Time Magazine Archive
Yet, until six months ago, he has made little more impact on the Western world than a splendidly caparisoned beefeater, opening and closing the door through which more ambitious men approached the Soviet throne room.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the innocent offspring of the beefeater declined this treat.
From Henry Esmond; The English Humourists; The Four Georges by Saintsbury, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
