Beaver

/ˈbiːvə/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere.
  • Grammar: beaver is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: activist, aegis, animal, antelope.
  • Usage evidence: An oil leak was contained by a beaver dam in Alberta.

How to use "beaver"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "beaver" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "beaver" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "beaver" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "beaver" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "beaver" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "activist" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "beaver", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere. countable

    "Then, for the safeguard of his personage, He did appoint a warlike equipage Of foreign beasts, not in the forest bred, But part by land and part by water fed; For tyranny is with strange aid supported. Then unto him all monstrous beasts resorted Bred of two kinds, as Griffons, Minotaurs, Crocodiles, Dragons, Beavers, and Centaurs: With those himself he strengthened mightily, That fear he need no force of enemy."

  2. 2
    Alternative spelling of bevor (“part of a helmet”). alt-of, alternative

    "Lord Stafford’s father, Duke of Buckingham, Is either slain or wounded dangerously; I cleft his beaver with a downright blow:"

  3. 3
    Butter.

    "Butter – Beaver."

  4. 4
    A native or resident of the American state of Oregon.
  5. 5
    Alternative letter-case form of beaver (“beard-spotting game”). alt-of
Show 19 more definitions
  1. 6
    large semiaquatic rodent with webbed hind feet and a broad flat tail; construct complex dams and underwater lodges wordnet
  2. 7
    The fur of the beaver. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A member of the youngest wing of the Scout movement, composed of groups for children, traditionally boys, of approximately five to seven years of age.
  4. 9
    a hat made with the fur of a beaver (or similar material) wordnet
  5. 10
    A hat, of various shapes, made from a felted beaver fur (or later of silk), fashionable in Europe between 1550 and 1850. countable

    "a broad beaver slouched over his eyes"

  6. 11
    a movable piece of armor on a medieval helmet used to protect the lower face wordnet
  7. 12
    Beaver pelts as an article of exchange or as a standard of value. Canada, US, countable, uncountable
  8. 13
    a man's hat with a tall crown; usually covered with silk or with beaver fur wordnet
  9. 14
    Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woollen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    a full beard wordnet
  11. 16
    A brown colour, like that of a beaver. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    a native or resident of Oregon wordnet
  13. 18
    A move in response to being doubled, in which one immediately doubles the stakes again, keeping the doubling cube on one’s own side of the board. countable
  14. 19
    the soft brown fur of the beaver wordnet
  15. 20
    Alternative letter-case form of Beaver (“member of the youngest wing of the Scout movement”). alt-of, countable, uncountable
  16. 21
    A beard or a bearded person. countable, slang

    "The beards were false ones. I could see the elastic going over their ears. In other words, I had fallen among a band of criminals who were not wilful beavers, but had merely assumed the fungus for purposes of disguise."

  17. 22
    A game, in which points are scored by spotting beards. historical, slang, uncountable
  18. 23
    The pubic hair near a vulva or a vulva itself; (attributively) denoting films or literature featuring nude women. Canada, US, countable, slang

    "Finally it came on. It was a beauty, a beaver flick made in the late 1970s. It was called Big Black Leather Splits."

  19. 24
    A woman, especially one who is sexually attractive. US, countable, offensive, slang, uncountable

    "“10-4, Beaver [CB talk for a female], we’re all going down to Plains tomorrow after Jimmy Carter wins.”"

Verb
  1. 1
    To form a felt-like texture, similar to the way beaver fur is used for felt-making.

    "Without these attentions the woad will not beaver well, a term descriptive of the fineness of the capillary filaments into which it draws out when broken between the finger and thumb."

  2. 2
    work hard on something wordnet
  3. 3
    To work hard.

    "When A. G. Dickens published his English Reformation in 1964 the archival beavering of a generation of graduate students was given its imprimatur in the claim to understand how the English people felt about religious change—largely, according to Dickens, positively."

  4. 4
    To cut a continuous ring around a tree that one is felling. slang
  5. 5
    After being doubled, to immediately double the stakes again, a move that keeps the doubling cube on one’s own side of the board.
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    To spot a beard in a game of beaver. slang

    "Beavering of foreign visitors does not count. This is a rule, but it is never carried out."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname. countable
  2. 2
    The Dane-zaa people, indigenous to northern Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. dated
  3. 3
    A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States:; A town in Carroll County, Arkansas. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:; A minor city in Amaqua Township, Boone County, Iowa. countable, uncountable
Show 16 more definitions
  1. 6
    A number of places in the United States:; A township and census-designated place therein, in Barton County, Kansas. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Floyd County, Kentucky. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A number of places in the United States:; A township and unincorporated community therein, in Bay County, Michigan. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Baldwin Township, Delta County, Michigan. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Whitewater Township, Winona County, Minnesota. countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    A number of places in the United States:; A village in Pike County, Ohio. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    A number of places in the United States:; A town, the county seat of Beaver County, Oklahoma. countable, uncountable
  8. 13
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Tillamook County, Oregon. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    A number of places in the United States:; A borough, the county seat of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    A number of places in the United States:; A city, the county seat of Beaver County, Utah. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Clallam County, Washington. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Raleigh County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
  13. 18
    A number of places in the United States:; A town in Clark County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
  14. 19
    A number of places in the United States:; A town and unincorporated community therein, in Marinette County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
  15. 20
    A number of places in the United States:; A town in Polk County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
  16. 21
    A number of places in the United States:; A number of other townships in the United States, listed under Beaver Township. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
activistaegisanimalantelopearmadilloarmor

Example

"An oil leak was contained by a beaver dam in Alberta."

Common questions

What does "beaver" mean?

A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere.

What is a synonym for "beaver"?

Common synonyms include: activist, aegis, animal, antelope, armadillo, armor.

How do you use "beaver" in a sentence?

An oil leak was contained by a beaver dam in Alberta.

How do you pronounce "beaver"?

Pronounced /ˈbiːvə/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”). Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Swedish bjur. Non-Germanic cognates include Welsh befer, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bẽbras, Russian бобр (bobr), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬭𐬀 (bauura), and Sanskrit बभ्रु (bábhru, “mongoose; ichneumon”). Slang use to refer to a woman evolved from use to refer to pubic hair, which evolved from use to refer to beards, which evolved from use to refer to the furry animal or its fur.

Etymology 2

See bevor.

Etymology 3

* As an English surname, capitalization of beaver. This sense is also translated from several Native American names such as Cheyenne homa'e and Creek Echaswvlke of the same meaning. Doublet of Bieber and Bever. * Also as an English surname, from the placename Belvoir in Leicestershire.

Etymology 4

Calque of Canadian French Castor. From French castor (“beaver”).

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Synonyms

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