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• beaver
  beaver

  noun

  a large, amphibious rodent of the genus Castor, having sharp incisors, webbed hind feet, and a flattened tail, noted for its ability to dam streams with trees, branches, etc.
• Beaver
  Beaver

  noun

  a member of a Beaver Colony , the youngest group of boys (aged 6–8 years) in the Scout Association

beaver

¹ American  

[bee-ver] / ˈbi vər /

noun

• beavers,
  plural
• beaver
  plural

1. a large, amphibious rodent of the genus Castor, having sharp incisors, webbed hind feet, and a flattened tail, noted for its ability to dam streams with trees, branches, etc.

2. the fur of this animal.

3. a flat, round hat made of beaver fur or a similar fabric.

4. a tall, cylindrical hat for men, formerly made of beaver and now of a fabric simulating this fur.

5. Informal. a full beard or a man wearing one.

6. Informal. an exceptionally active or hard-working person.

7. Slang: Vulgar.

   1. a woman's pubic area.

   2. Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman.

8. Textiles.

   1. a cotton cloth with a thick nap, used chiefly in the manufacture of work clothes.

   2. (formerly) a heavy, soft, woolen cloth with a thick nap, made to resemble beaver fur.

9. none Beaver a native or inhabitant of Oregon, the Beaver State (used as a nickname).

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verb (used without object)

• beavers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beavered,
  past participle,  past
• beavering
  present participle

1. British. to work very hard or industriously at something (usually followed byaway ).

beaver ² American  

[bee-ver] / ˈbi vər /

noun

Armor.

1. a piece of plate armor for covering the lower part of the face and throat, worn especially with an open helmet, as a sallet or basinet.

2. a piece of plate armor, pivoted at the sides, forming part of a close helmet below the visor or ventail.

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beaver ¹ British  

/ ˈbiːvə /

noun

1. a large amphibious rodent, Castor fiber , of Europe, Asia, and North America: family Castoridae . It has soft brown fur, a broad flat hairless tail, and webbed hind feet, and constructs complex dams and houses (lodges) in rivers

2. the fur of this animal

3. a burrowing rodent, Aplodontia rufa , of W North America: family Aplodontidae

4. a tall hat of beaver fur or a fabric resembling it, worn, esp by men, during the 19th century

5. a woollen napped cloth resembling beaver fur, formerly much used for overcoats, etc

6. a greyish- or yellowish-brown

7. obsolete a full beard

8. a bearded man

9. (modifier) having the colour of beaver or made of beaver fur or some similar material

   a beaver lamb coat

   a beaver stole

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verb

1. to work industriously or steadily

Beaver ² British  

/ ˈbiːvə /

noun

1. a member of a Beaver Colony , the youngest group of boys (aged 6–8 years) in the Scout Association

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beaver ³ British  

/ ˈbiːvə /

noun

1. a movable piece on a medieval helmet used to protect the lower part of the face

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beaver Idioms  

1. see busy as a beaver; eager beaver; work like a beaver.

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Sensitive Note

Beaver as a term for a woman is perceived as insulting because it refers to the female in sexual terms. However, in the 1970s, it was CB radio slang, neutral in connotation and even used by women themselves as a term of self-reference.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• beaverish
  adjective
• beaverlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beaver
  plural
• beavers
  plural

Participles

• beavering
  present
• beavered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• beaver
  simple
• beavers
  simple
• have beavered
  perfect
• has beavered
  perfect
• am beavering
  progressive
• are beavering
  progressive
• is beavering
  progressive
• have been beavering
  perfect progressive
• has been beavering
  perfect progressive

Past

• beavered
  simple
• had beavered
  perfect
• was beavering
  progressive
• were beavering
  progressive
• had been beavering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will beaver
  simple
• will have beavered
  perfect
• will be beavering
  progressive
• will have been beavering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of beaver¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bever, Old English beofor, befor; cognate with German Biber, akin to Lithuanian bebrùs, Russian bobr, Latin fiber, Sanskrit babhrús “reddish brown,” also an animal resembling a mongoose

Origin of beaver²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bavier, bavour, beaver, from Middle French baviere ( Old French: “child's bib”), equivalent to bave “spit, dribble” + -iere, from Latin -āria, feminine of -ārius -ary; alteration of vowel in the initial syllable is due to confusion with beaver hat

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Explanation

A beaver is a water- and land-dwelling animal with a very broad tail, short fur, and prominent front teeth. Beavers are famous for their ability to build dams across rivers and streams. Beavers are actually rodents, so they are related to mice and rats, though they're much larger. Their long teeth make it possible for them to chew through even broad tree trunks, felling them across bodies of water to create dams. This provides the beavers with a safe home or lodge, protected by the ponds they've created and usually accessible only underwater. The word beaver has a Proto-Indo-European root that means "brown" or "bright."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beaver Beaver beavers beavered beavering

With its short fur and broad, flattened tail, Megacauda sungei would have looked somewhat like a modern otter, beaver, or platypus.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

The biodiversity of the beaver population will be strengthened with more animals being released, while the trust works with landowners to restore the creatures' habitat.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Among other things, the beaver and moose are both “facing right with wide eyes and a smile,” it notes in a lawsuit filed this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Three beaver kits have been born in a forest as part of a conservation programme.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

“Down I went, tumbling end over end, sinking into the beaver pond,” Roz began.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

"Beavers are a keystone species" said Emily Bowen of the Beaver Trust.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

There was: the Thirsty Beaver on Germantown Road, a biker bar with a stuffed beaver stationed at the front door.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

He was scheduled to carry a passenger from Fairbanks to Beaver, a predominantly Alaska Native village of fewer than 100 people about 110 miles north of the city, reachable only by air or river.

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026

One of six large wildfires burning in Utah, it severely damaged the Eagle Point ski resort in Beaver County.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

He was thinking of those tea ships, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, the Beaver, great white sails spread softly, sweeping on and on through the night to Boston.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Along with pigs and beavers, cats often served as ingredients in human medicaments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Its backers say the beavers have created new wetland habitats on the site, improved water quality and made the area more resilient to flooding and drought.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

She said she saw more than two dozen dead animals, including raccoons and beavers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

"It's been really interesting to see how the general public have taken to beavers and getting people thinking about seeing them back in our countryside."

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

The first set of puzzles about anteaters and elephants had to be easier than the set of puzzles about beavers and worms, which in turn had to be easier than the final set about fish.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

If Musk had quietly beavered away on something that might have helped, that would have been one thing, but that isn’t Musk’s style – he happily admits to his own arrogance.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2018

For two months, they beavered away at the problem.

From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2014

There were issues of "privacy" and "commercial confidentiality" here apparently, as big hackers beavered away untouched.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 28, 2013

"They have beavered away trying this and trying that and the formulations have changed over the last 50 years, but not radically."

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2011

"I cut forty-nine, and the boss," he added dryly, not realizing that Roosevelt was within hearing—"the boss he beavered down seventeen."

From Roosevelt in the Bad Lands by Hermann Hagedorn

I didn’t set out to leverage AI, beavering away in the background while I sleep, to set my priorities every morning, and even help me regulate my physical and mental health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

A detective, in the form of a Firmin scholar, is beavering around.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2023

Adam Le Doux, the creator of the game-making software, was working as a programmer at Microsoft while beavering away on creative projects in his spare time.

From The Verge ● Mar. 7, 2022

After the success of Latin Grammy-nominated single Otro Trago, be sure that he’s beavering away on the song of the summer.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 27, 2019

Thank'ee, Hurry; thank'ee, with all my heart—but I do a little beavering for myself as occasions offer.

From The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper

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