: either of two large semiaquatic herbivorous rodents comprising a family (Castoridae including Castor canadensis of North America and C. fiber of Eurasia), having webbed hind feet and a broad flat scaly tail, and constructing dams and partially submerged lodges
Verb
he's been beavering away at the various courses for his dinner party all day long, hoping to impress his new friends
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Noun
Around that same time, English merchants began offering Caribbean rum to the Shawnee and other Native groups as part of the trade in deerskins and beaver pelts.—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 30 Aug. 2025 Upon their return—primarily after the reintroduction of wolves—beavers built dams and ponds, slowing water flow and restoring river ecosystems.—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 29 Aug. 2025 The American River Parkway is home to wildlife, such as otters, beavers, turtles, many bird species, opossum and more.—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2025 Busy beaver hunters don’t expect to have a definitive answer anytime soon.—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for beaver
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English bever, from Old English beofor; akin to Old High German bibar beaver, and probably to Old English brūn brown — more at brown
Noun (2)
Middle English baviere, from Middle French
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
: a large plant-eating rodent that has webbed hind feet and a broad flat tail and that builds dams and houses of mud and branches which are partly underwater
2
: the fur of a beaver
beaver
2 of 2noun
: a piece of armor protecting the lower part of the face
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