How to Use bean counter in a Sentence

bean counter

noun
  • He blames corporate bean counters for causing thousands of workers to lose their jobs.
  • In an age of drab bean counters, Miramax had moxie and mystique.
    — Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017
  • Either way, this kind of play effectively takes you out of the driver's seat—or even the pit—to become a bean counter.
    — Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2017
  • And bean counters beware — not every car sold at these auctions means big bucks for the local economy.
    — Joshua Bowling, azcentral, 16 July 2019
  • Sorrento is an autocratic bean counter, a would-be master of the universe who doesn’t even like video games.
    — A. O. Scott, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2018
  • That trial and error makes Carl a bean counter in addition to scientist.
    — Marc Bona, cleveland.com, 3 June 2019
  • What, pray tell, could be the reason for such a preemptive strike against these nonpartisan bean counters?
    — Jim Newell, Slate Magazine, 8 Mar. 2017
  • To anyone other than an airline bean counter, airfares make absolutely no sense.
    — Barbara Peterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Feb. 2018
  • Virtually, the only people who cared were the bean counters, the stat keepers and the bookmakers.
    — Ed Barkowitz, Philly.com, 18 May 2018
  • Perhaps government bean counters haven’t sharpened their pencils, or maybe there are outstanding bills still to be invoiced.
    — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Connecticut’s bean counters are forecasting a $2 billion budget deficit next year.
    — Allysia Finley, WSJ, 5 Oct. 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, 11 June 2018
  • Like, the bean counters probably loved the fact that the first volume of the Beach Boys’ greatest hits eventually sold three and a half million copies.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 17 May 2026
  • 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, 12 July 2018
  • This will be a challenge for implant startups in crowded markets for migraine, bladder control, sleep apnea, where scientific or technical breakthroughs don’t matter to bureaucrats and bean counters.
    — Naveen Rao, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
  • More often than not, the discrepancies between Fennell's Wuthering Heights and its source material pander to the female gaze rather than to historical bean counters who are obsessed with sticking to the outdated script.
    — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026
  • The bean counters’ dream scenario of a seven-game series versus the Cavs—the Pistons would have home court versus the Knicks—and an NBA Finals of at least six games would drive gross revenue near $180 million.
    — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 14 May 2026
  • Walt Whitman was a proud government bean counter during the last days of the Civil War and into the following decade, working variously for the Army Paymaster’s Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    — Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
  • According to the bean counters at Un/Necessary Sports Research, the younger Albert now has 1,508 national booth appearances under his belt, putting him within arm’s reach of Dick Stockton, who leads all comers with 1,544 games called.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bean counter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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