Phrase guide

beaver away

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To work hard at a task.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • She won't be going out much, as she's beavering away on her thesis.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

work hard on something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: beaver

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: work

History

Etymology

From the metaphorical image of a person working as industriously as a beaver building its dam.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: ahkeroida — to busily undertake
  • Finnish: ahertaa — to busily undertake
  • Finnish: uurastaa — to busily undertake
  • French: bûcher — to busily undertake
  • Georgian: მუყაითობს (muq̇aitobs) — to busily undertake
  • Georgian: გარჯა (garǯa) — to busily undertake
  • Georgian: ბეჯითობა (beǯitoba) — to busily undertake