Beater

A beater is a device or attachment designed to produce a beating or mixing action. In kitchen appliances, beater refers to detachable mixing attachments used with electric hand mixers and stand mixers to beat, whip, or blend ingredients. Common forms include wire beaters (for whipping cream and eggs) and flat beaters or paddles (for batters and heavier mixtures). Some mixers also include dough hooks, which are used to knead dough but are part of the same family of attachments. Beaters are usually made of stainless steel or coated metal.

In music and percussion, a beater is any implement used to strike a percussion instrument. The most familiar beaters are drumsticks and mallets; on some drums, the beater also refers to the weighted piece attached to a bass drum pedal that strikes the drum head. The choice of beater material—felt, wood, plastic—affects attack, brightness, and volume. In addition to drums, the term can describe the tool used in other striking instruments, where the beater’s mass and density determine the response.

Etymology: Beater derives from beat + -er, indicating an agent that performs beating. The term can also describe something that defeats or overpowers another thing in competitive contexts, depending on usage.