beaker
B2Technical, Everyday (UK), Historical
Definition
Meaning
A cylindrical glass or plastic container with a flat bottom, a pouring lip, and often measurement markings, used in laboratories.
A large, sturdy plastic cup, often without a handle, used for drinking, especially by children. Also, a historical drinking vessel, typically made of metal or pottery.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The primary meaning is strongly associated with science and laboratories. In British English, the 'drinking cup' sense is common in everyday contexts, especially for children. The historical sense is now rare.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
In the UK, 'beaker' commonly refers to a child's plastic drinking cup. In the US, this object is almost exclusively called a 'cup' or 'sippy cup'; 'beaker' is reserved almost entirely for the laboratory vessel.
Connotations
UK: Can evoke childhood or informal drinking. US: Strongly connotes science, chemistry, and precision.
Frequency
The laboratory sense is frequent in both varieties. The drinking vessel sense has high frequency in UK everyday speech but is very rare in US English.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Verb] + the beaker + [with liquid]Pour + [liquid] + into the beakerThe beaker + contains + [amount] + of + [substance]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A watched beaker never boils (play on 'pot')”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare, except in businesses selling laboratory equipment or educational toys.
Academic
Very common in scientific writing, lab reports, and chemistry/biology textbooks.
Everyday
Common in UK (child's cup). In US, limited to contexts discussing science at home (e.g., a child's science kit).
Technical
The standard term for a specific piece of laboratory equipment (e.g., Griffin beaker, Berzelius beaker).
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The child drank milk from a blue plastic beaker.
- We use a beaker in science class.
- Please pour 100ml of the solution into a clean beaker.
- My toddler prefers his beaker to a regular cup.
- The reaction was carried out in a 500ml Pyrex beaker heated to 60°C.
- Archaeologists uncovered a Bronze Age beaker made of polished clay.
- The beaker's graduations were faint, introducing a minor systematic error into the volume measurements.
- The beaker culture is identified by its distinctive bell-shaped pottery vessels.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
A BEAKER has a BEAK-like pouring lip.
Conceptual Metaphor
CONTAINER FOR KNOWLEDGE (e.g., 'The beaker held the secret to the reaction').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating as 'чашка' (cup/mug) in scientific contexts—use 'мензурка' or 'химический стакан'. In UK everyday contexts for a child's cup, 'чашка' or 'пластиковый стаканчик' is appropriate.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing a beaker with a flask (which has a narrow neck). Using 'beaker' in US English to ask for a drinking cup.
- Misspelling as 'beeker'.
- Using it as a verb (it is almost exclusively a noun).
Practice
Quiz
In which variety of English is 'beaker' commonly used to mean a child's drinking cup?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
In a laboratory, no—a beaker is for mixing and heating, not drinking. In UK everyday language, a plastic beaker is a type of cup, usually for children.
A beaker is cylindrical with a wide opening and a lip for pouring. A flask (like an Erlenmeyer flask) typically has a conical body and a narrow neck, designed for swirling without spilling.
No, 'beaker' is almost exclusively a noun in modern English. There is no standard verb form.
The difference is in the final vowel sound (schwa /ə/ in British RP vs. rhotic schwa /ɚ/ in General American), reflecting the rhoticity of American English.
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