beaver

BEE-vur/ˈbivɚ/UKBEE-vuh/ˈbiːvə/

Pluralbeavers

Verbbeavers, beavering, beavered

16 meanings of beaver

Practice

1
animalnouncountable
A large rodent that lives near water, with a wide flat tail and webbed back feet.
Like a small builder that makes its own home and dam out of sticks and mud.
A beaver built a dam across the stream.
We watched a beaver slap its tail against the water.
2
furnouncountable or uncountable
The soft, thick fur that comes from a beaver.
Her gloves were made of soft beaver.
Beaver was prized for making warm winter hats.
3
work hardverbintransitive
To work very hard, often for a long time.
Like working without stopping, the way a busy ant keeps carrying food all day.
The kids beaver away at their homework every evening.
We beavered away in the kitchen all afternoon.
UsageSay beaver away at your work.
Similartoil, slog, labor, plug, work
Oppositelaze, loaf, idle
Note
4
private partsnounslangvulgarCanadaUScountable
A rude slang word for a woman's pubic hair or genitals.
He embarrassed her with a crude joke about her beaver.
The store kept its beaver magazines behind the counter.
Similarbush, muff, pussy, snatch
Note
5
nounCanadaUScountable or uncountable
Animal skins from beavers, once used like money in trade.
The trapper paid for his supplies in beaver.
One wool blanket cost several beaver at the trading post.
UsageSay a price was paid in beaver, or twelve beaver.

Less common meanings

6
hatnouncountable
A hat made from pressed beaver fur, or later from silk, popular long ago in Europe.
He wore a fine beaver to church on Sundays.
The gentleman tipped his beaver as the ladies passed.
Note
7
womannounslangoffensiveUScountable or uncountable
An offensive slang word for a woman, especially an attractive one.
He called her a beaver, and the whole room went quiet.
The men leered and muttered about the beaver at the bar.
UsageSay woman instead.
Note
8
wool clothnouncountable or uncountable
A heavy wool cloth with a soft, thick surface, used to make warm coats.
The tailor made his overcoat from thick wool beaver.
The tailor ordered several yards of brown beaver.
9
brown colornouncountable or uncountable
A brown color, like the fur of a beaver.
She painted the bedroom walls a warm beaver.
The old coat had faded to a dull beaver.
10
noun
A quick reply in backgammon where you double the stakes again right after your opponent doubles.
11
verb
To double the backgammon stakes again right away after your opponent has doubled, keeping the cube on your side.
12
verbrare
To develop a soft, fuzzy surface like felt.
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.
1799, Arthur Young, General View of the Agriculture of the County of Lincoln
13
verbslang
To cut a ring all the way around a tree that you are cutting down.
14
nounslang
A beard, or a man who wears one.
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.
1936, P. G. Wodehouse, Laughing Gas
15
nounslang
A spotting game where players score points by being first to see a beard.
16
verbslang
To call out a beard you have seen while playing the game of beaver.
Beavering of foreign visitors does not count. This is a rule, but it is never carried out.
1922, Roanoke World-News, Roanoke

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of beaver apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

The word comes from an old English word for the animal, going all the way back to Proto-Indo-European. Slang uses for a woman or pubic hair came from an earlier use meaning 'beard', which came from the furry animal.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

The animal name descends from Old English and ultimately Proto-Indo-European. en.wiktionary.org
The slang senses for pubic hair and a woman developed through an earlier beard sense derived from the animal. en.wiktionary.org