beater
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbiːtə/
ipa: /ˈbitɚ/
ipa: [ˈbiɾɚ]
rhymes: -iːtə(ɹ)
Forms: form: beaters
Etymology: From Middle English beter, betere, bettere, from Old English bēatere (“a beater; boxer, fighter; champion”), equivalent to beat + -er. Related to beetle (“a type of mallet”).
Senses: examples: text: His batwings were somehow more frightening for being the pathetic broken floundering things they were than if they had been strong, muscular beaters of the air.
ref: 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 94:
glosses: Someone or something that beats.
glosses: A kitchen implement for mixing.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
synonyms: drum stick
glosses: A stick used to play a percussion instrument.
examples: text: The beaters halted in a group to watch, and some of them could not refrain from clicking their tongues; they thought it queer and rather shocking to see a woman handle a gun.
ref: 1934, George Orwell, chapter 14, in Burmese Days:
text: "Our beaters are doing a marvellous job, just listen to them, will you?"
ref: 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XV, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 158:
glosses: A person who drives game towards shooters in a hunting party, typically working in a group with other beaters.
glosses: A papermaking machine for processing fibres by fibrillation in order to improve bonding strength
examples: text: Packed merrily into my friends’ beater, an old Ford Pinto, we headed into Jennings, a mostly Black North St. Louis County community heavily patrolled by white officers, to pick up one more college friend.
ref: 2020 July 14, Ron Stodghill, “Black Behind the Wheel”, in New York Times:
synonyms: word: banger
word: bucket
word: hooptie
word: jalopy
word: wreck
word: crock
word: shitbox
word: rustbucket
word: banger
word: beater
word: bucket of bolts
word: bucket of rust
word: clunker
word: crate
word: crock
word: flivver
word: hooptie
word: jalopy
word: junker
word: lemon
word: old banger
word: rattletrap
word: rustbucket
word: shed
word: shitbox
word: shitpot
word: shitcan
word: shitbucket
word: tin Lizzie
word: wreck
glosses: An old or dilapidated automobile in poor operating condition.
topics: business
manufacturing
textiles
weaving
glosses: A weaving tool designed to push the weft yarn securely into place. It contains the comb-like insert reed and is sometimes a part of the loom.
glosses: In the sport Quidditch or Muggle quidditch, a player a who attempts to hit the opposing team's players with bludgers and to block the bludgers from hitting their own team's players.
glosses: A harp seal pup after its first moult and before its second moult.
examples: text: Beaters generally don't sell for much, unless they're a particularly legendary model, and they’re generally sold without the original box or extra laces. Unlike most "worn" sneakers that have been kept as close to perfect as possible, beaters tend to be the shoes used for rainy days and in the gym.
ref: 2015 July 22, Josh Chesler, “10 Sneaker Terms You Need to Know When Getting Into Kicks”, in Pheonix New Times:
text: What constitutes a beater varies from person to person — some might consider affordable sneakers like the Vans Sk8-Hi or a pair of Nike Air Force 1s a pair worth beating to death, while other sneakerheads might discover that one of their favorite "hyped" sneakers just naturally becomes a beater over time.
ref: 2018 September 11, Fabian Gorsler, “Industry Insiders Reveal Their Favorite Beater Sneakers”, in Highsnobiety:
text: 5 low-key footwear brands making the trusty summer beater feel exciting again.
ref: 2022 July 25, Jake Woolf, “Your Next Pair of Canvas Sneakers Should Come With a Serious Dose of Indie Cred”, in GQ:
glosses: A shoe suitable for everyday wear, during which they may get dirty or scuffed, as opposed to more valuable shoes that one wishes to keep in good condition.
glosses: A durable and usually inexpensive wristwatch.
Derived terms: beater-upper
Bible beater
buzzer beater
buzzer-beater
carpet-beater
carpet beater
daily beater
drumbeater
egg beater
eggbeater
farebeater
fire beater
goldbeater
gold-beater
Hollander beater
panel beater
rotary beater
silverbeater
wife-beater
wife beater
world-beater