What does "tester" mean?
A canopy over a bed.
Tester
/ˈtɛstəɹ/ name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A canopy over a bed.
- Grammar: tester is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: examiner, administrator, analyst, analyzer.
- Useful contrasts: examinee, non tester, testee.
- Usage evidence: For this test, I bought a voltage tester.
How to use "tester"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tester" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "tester" 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 "tester" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tester" 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 "tester" is acting as name, noun, 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 "examiner" 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 "tester", 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 A canopy over a bed.
"And I could as hardly spare my gloves as my shirt, or forbeare washing of my hands both in the mornng and rising from the table, or lye in a bed without a testerne and curtaines about it, as of most necessary things."
- 2 A person who administers a test.
- 3 An old French silver coin.
- 4 Alternative form of testiere (“armor for a horse's head”). alt-of, alternative
"A horse-head tester had cutouts for the animal's eyes and ears. A peytral protected the horse's breast, while the crinet, made of overlapping steel plates joined by leather straps or rivets, protected its neck."
- 5 a flat canopy (especially one over a four-poster bed) wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 Something that overhangs something else; especially a canopy or soundboard over a pulpit.
"With our shaggy jackets drawn about our shoulders, we now passed the Tomahawk from one to the other, till slowly there grew over us a blue hanging tester of smoke, illuminated by the flame of the new-lit lamp."
- 7 A device used for testing.
- 8 A sixpence. British, dated, slang
"When after their beaſtly ſport and pleaſure Mounſieur Libid[inoſo] heat of luſt was ſomewhat aſſwaged, and ready to goe, féeling his pocket for a venereall remuneration [i.e., a copper coin] finds nothing but a Teſter, or at leaſt ſo little, that it was not ſufficient to pleaſe dame Pleaſure for her hire. [...] My Ladie would not beléeue Monſ. Libid. a great while, but ſearched and féeled for more coine, [...]"
- 9 someone who administers a test to determine your qualifications wordnet
- 10 A punishment of 25 lashes (strokes of a whip) across a person′s back. Australia, obsolete, slang
- 11 A sample of perfume available in a shop for customers to try before they buy.
- 12 A miniature pot of paint for testing and comparison purposes.
- 13 A cyclist who focuses on success in time trials.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Old French.
"But only if one forgets that Mr. Tester is 50 years old, he’s seasoned in state politics, he ran a canny, gloves-off campaign, and he’s the kind of charismatic, hard-to-peg, Western neopopulist (like his friend, Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana) who might be, even now, redefining in certain far-reaching ways what it means to be a Democrat."
Example
"For this test, I bought a voltage tester."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tester"?
Common synonyms include: examiner, administrator, analyst, analyzer, assayer, canopy.
How do you use "tester" in a sentence?
For this test, I bought a voltage tester.
How do you pronounce "tester"?
Pronounced /ˈtɛstəɹ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English tester, from Old French testre, from Latin testura.
Etymology 2
From Middle English tester, equivalent to test + -er.
Etymology 3
For testern, teston, from French teston, from Old French teste (“the head, the head of the king being impressed upon the coin”). See tester (“a covering”), and compare testone, testoon.
Etymology 4
Inherited from Middle English tester; see testiere.
Etymology 5
From Old French testard (“someone with a big head”), a pejorative from teste (“head”).