tester

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Technology Technical

n. a tool or machine used to check if something is working or safe.

n. a mechanical or electronic device designed to perform diagnostic checks or verify the integrity of a component.

“He used a battery tester to see if the remote needed new ones.”

“The technician connected the voltage tester to the circuit board to identify where the electrical current was being interrupted.”

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. a small amount of a product, like perfume or paint, that you can try before buying.

n. a specimen of a retail product provided to consumers for trial or evaluation prior to purchase.

“She sprayed a little perfume from the tester onto her wrist.”

“The hardware store sells small paint testers so customers can observe how the colour looks under different lighting conditions at home.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Archaic · Literary

n. a wooden or cloth cover that hangs over a bed.

n. a canopy over a bed, supported by the bedposts or hanging from the ceiling.

“The old castle bedroom featured a grand bed with a velvet tester.”

“The antique four-poster bed was crowned with an ornate oak tester, carved with the family's heraldic symbols in the seventeenth century.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun British English · Archaic · Slang

n. an old British coin worth six pence.

n. a historical British coin with the value of sixpence.

“The old man remembered when a tester could buy a whole bag of sweets.”

“In the Victorian era, a common thief might risk imprisonment for the sake of a few testers lifted from a gentleman's pocket.”