I. bea ‧ ver 1 /ˈbiːvə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: beofor ]
a North American animal that has thick fur and a wide flat tail, and cuts down trees with its teeth
⇨ eager beaver at ↑ eager (2)
II. beaver 2 BrE AmE verb
beaver away phrasal verb informal
to work very hard, especially at writing or calculating something
beaver away at
He’s been beavering away at his homework for hours.