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

Whittier Christian lost a buzzer beater, forcing a play-in game against Maranatha to decide third place in the Olympic League and a playoff spot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 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

Donaldson drives over the flooded beds with a harvesting machine called a beater, which knocks the berries from the cranberry vines.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023

His hoodie was tied by the arms around his waist; he wore a beater, and a V-neck over that.

From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Unable to recruit bodywork painters or panel beaters, the car firm hooked up with the local government to hire young migrants once they turn 18 and leave state care.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

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

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

From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024

Shuttles holding the weft thread hurtled themselves like beasts of prey through the tall forests of warp threads, and beaters slammed the threads tightly into place.

From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson