/ ˈbiːvə(r); NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] an animal with a wide flat tail and strong teeth. Beavers live in water and on land and can build dams (= barriers across rivers), made of pieces of wood and mud. It is an official symbol of Canada.
—see also eager beaver
2.
[ U ] the fur of the beaver, used in making hats and clothes
3.
[ C ] ( taboo slang , especially NAmE ) the area around a woman's sex organs
■ verb
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PHRASAL VERBS
- beaver away (at sth)
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WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 1 to 2 and verb Old English beofor , befor , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bever and German Biber , from an Indo-European root meaning brown .
noun sense 3 early 20th cent.: of unknown origin.