bean counter
nounDefinition of bean counter
usually disparaging
: a person involved in corporate or government financial decisions and especially one reluctant to spend money
Examples of bean counter in a Sentence
He blames corporate bean counters for causing thousands of workers to lose their jobs.
Recent Examples on the Web
Many of the news organization’s bean counters saw them as luxuries, said Doug Haddix, executive director of the organization Investigative Reporters & Editors. — Washington Post, "Epstein story shows investigative journalism is thriving," 9 July 2019 Perenchio, who passed in 2017 at 86 with a net worth the bean counters at Forbes pegged at around $2.8 billion, was also a prolific property owner in Malibu, particularly in and around the legendary Colony enclave. — Variety, The Mercury News, "‘Beverly Hillbillies’ mansion gets super-sized price cut," 26 June 2019 That trial and error makes Carl a bean counter in addition to scientist. — Marc Bona, cleveland.com, "Feisty Brood Meadery growing in Northfield," 3 June 2019 That’s especially true in years when April tax revenues roll in below expectations, causing bean counters to scramble to realign priorities. — Joshua Miller And Matt Stout, BostonGlobe.com, "Mass. Legislature could strengthen Charlie Baker’s hand with budget delay," 12 July 2018 Nevertheless, Thiele found ways around the bean counters. — Marc Myers, WSJ, "‘Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album’ Review: Sitting in the Studio With Coltrane," 18 June 2018 And medicine, like any other profession, has its charlatans and jerks, and is certainly being perverted by the bean counters. — Judith Shulevitz, New York Times, "Is Our Obsession With Wellness Doing Us In?," 11 June 2018 Virtually, the only people who cared were the bean counters, the stat keepers and the bookmakers. — Ed Barkowitz, Philly.com, "Odubel Herrera's on-base streak for Phillies: Some historical perspective," 18 May 2018 The state’s bean counters, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, recommended that the state not spend all the surplus, because lean months could be coming before the end of the fiscal year in June. — Richard Ruelas, azcentral, "Teacher salaries: What we know about how Gov. Doug Ducey will pay for a 20 percent raise," 13 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bean counter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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