beaker

[ bee-ker ]

noun

1. a large drinking cup or glass with a wide mouth.
2. contents of a beaker:

   consuming a beaker of beer at one gulp.

3. a flat-bottomed cylindrical container, usually with a pouring lip, especially one used in a laboratory.

adjective

1. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Beaker folk.

beaker

/ ˈbiːkə /

noun

1. a cup usually having a wide mouth

   a plastic beaker

2. a cylindrical flat-bottomed container used in laboratories, usually made of glass and having a pouring lip
3. the amount a beaker holds

beaker

/ bē′kər /

1. A wide, cylindrical glass container with a pouring lip, used especially in laboratories.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beaker¹

First recorded in 1300–50; alteration of Middle English biker, from Old Norse bikarr, from Old Saxon bikeri (compare Old High German bechari, German Becher, Dutch beker ), from unattested Latin bic(c)arium, -ius, of uncertain origin. See pitcher ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of beaker¹

C14: from Old Norse bikarr ; related to Old High German behhāri , Middle Dutch bēker beaker, Greek bikos earthenware jug

Example Sentences

Throughout his career Pickthall worked in TV and film, conducting music on Tracy Beaker: The Movie of Me in 2004 and supervising the music for Julian Fellowes' A Most Mysterious Murder in 2005.

From BBC

A one-legged Green Beret captain chugging a beaker of pesticide.

From Los Angeles Times

Around the same time the Bréviandes group was buried, the “bell beaker” culture, characterized by distinctively shaped pots, was beginning to spread across Europe, eventually stretching from the Danube River to Ireland and even to North Africa.

From Science Magazine

The intensive use of dairy products continued particularly amongst the Bell Beaker populations, who did not seem have the same preference for pork.

From Science Daily

In measuring cup, beaker, or plastic cup, combine yeast and warm water.

From National Geographic Kids

Related Words

• chalice