beefeater

American

[beef-ee-ter] / ˈbifˌi tər /

noun

a yeoman of the English royal guard or a warder of the Tower of London.
Informal. an Englishman.
a person who eats beef.

beefeater British

/ ˈbiːfˌiːtə /

noun

a nickname often applied to the Yeomen of the Guard and the Yeomen Warders at the Tower of London

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

This man is a greater than I. THE BEEFEATER.

From Dark Lady of the Sonnets by Shaw, Bernard

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023