Beater
[1] An old or collectible vehicle that is in
drivable condition, but looks terrible inside and out, and probably is missing many original parts. Often used to describe a vehicle that is past the easy
restoration stage but still contains many good driving miles. It is also a term for "urban combat car" and is usually used in conjunction with the word winter, as in
winter beater, which is a vehicle that is so far gone, it is sacrificed to the salt covered roads of winter. It is a disposable collectible that is driven until it disintegrates. In other words, it looks as if someone had been beating it for quite a while. British term is
banger.
[2] A device for hitting something.
[3] A vat containing a heavy cylindrical roll (
beater roll), fitted with bars, parallel to the
journal, which rotates against a fixed set of bars (
bedplate). The paper fibers in suspension in water pass between these bars in preparation for sheet making.
[4] High-speed revolving shaft having arms equipped with blades or pins. These beat out the heavy impurities in matted raw fibers in opening and
scutching processes. See also
panel beater