Beaker
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A flat-bottomed, straight-sided, glass vessel, with a lip and often a small spout, used as a laboratory container.
- 2 a cup (usually without a handle) wordnet
- 3 A drinking vessel without a handle.
"The beakers of mead spilled in huge puddles."
- 4 a flatbottomed jar made of glass or plastic; used for chemistry wordnet
- 5 A mug.
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- 6 An ancient bell-shaped ceramic pot with a wide mouth, narrow neck, and flaring body, used by the Beaker people during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
- 7 A scientist. slang
"[…] at every meal break he shambled into the galley black-fingered and smelling of engine-grease and concrete floors, to contemplate over his meal the beakers at their round tables chatting away, completely oblivious […]"
Example
More examples"The Beaker People were named after the shape of their pots."
Etymology
From Middle English bekyr, biker, from Old Norse bikarr (“cup”), from Old Saxon bikeri (“cup”), from Proto-West Germanic *bikārī, from Late Latin bīcārium (“wine vat, jug”), of disputed origin. Possibly from Ancient Greek βῖκος (bîkos, “earthenware jug, wine jar”), or from Latin bacarium (“wine vat, vase”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bieker (“mug, cup, beaker”), Dutch beker (“beaker, cup”), German Becher (“beaker, cup, goblet”), Danish bæger (“beaker”), Italian bicchiere (“cup, glass (for drink)”). Doublet of pitcher.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.