noun
Freq #29799
Meanings
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1
noun
a device or instrument used to test the quality, operation, or properties of something
The electrician touched a voltage tester to the wire.
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2
noun
a person who tests products, systems, or people's abilities
Each software tester recorded the steps that triggered the error.
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3
noun
a flat canopy over a bed, throne, pulpit, or similar structure; historical
Dust gathered in the corners of the tester above the bed.
Thesaurus
Etymology
The testing senses are formed from test + the agent suffix -er. The canopy sense is a separate, older word from Middle English tester, through Old French testre and Medieval Latin testura, related to a word for the head; the canopy originally covered the head of a bed.