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beat
[beet]
verb (used with object)
to strike violently or forcefully and repeatedly.
Before there were vacuum cleaners, you had to hang rugs on a line and beat them with a stick to get the dust out.
to dash against.
We could hear the rain beating the trees outside the window.
to flutter, flap, or rotate in or against.
The hummingbird beat the air with its wings.
to overcome in a contest; defeat.
They beat us by 12 points.
to win over in a race (used withto ).
I'll beat you to the corner!
to be superior to.
Making reservations beats waiting in line.
Informal., to be incomprehensible to; baffle.
It beats me how he got the job.
to mitigate or offset the effects of.
One way to beat the hot weather is to go swimming.
We beat the interest rate hike by consolidating our debt into a line of credit.
to sound, such as on a drum.
She beat a steady rhythm on the bongos.
to stir vigorously.
Beat the egg whites well.
to break, forge, or make by blows.
The blacksmith beat the red-hot iron into a horseshoe.
to produce (an attitude, idea, habit, etc.) by repeated efforts.
He made his piano student practice scales one hour a day in the hopes it would beat some discipline into him.
to make (a path) by repeated walking.
Kids had beaten a path through the woods to the river.
to strike (a person or animal) repeatedly and injuriously.
Some of the hoodlums beat their victims viciously before robbing them.
Music., to mark (time) by strokes, such as with the hand or foot or with a metronome.
She beat time to the music with her foot.
Hunting., to scour (the forest, grass, or brush), and sometimes make noise, in order to rouse game.
Slang., to swindle; cheat (often followed byout ).
He beat him out of hundreds of dollars on that deal.
to escape or avoid (blame or punishment).
Textiles., to strike (the loose pick) into its proper place in the woven cloth by beating the loosely deposited filling yarn with the reed.
verb (used without object)
to strike repeated blows; pound.
She kept beating on my door, so I finally opened it.
to throb or pulsate.
His heart began to beat faster.
to dash; strike (usually followed by against oron ).
The sound of hail beating on the roof was deafening.
to make a sound when struck.
We could hear drums beating in the distance.
to play, such as on a drum.
I began beating softly on the drums, picking up the rhythm as they sang.
to achieve victory in a contest; win.
Which team do you think will beat?
to scour cover for game.
Physics., to make a beat or beats.
(of a cooking ingredient) to foam or stiffen as a result of beating or whipping.
This cream won't beat.
Nautical., to tack to windward by sailing close-hauled.
noun
a stroke or blow.
A beat on the head with that thing could kill you.
the sound made by one or more blows.
The beat of drums was coming from the school’s music room.
a throb or pulsation.
The patient had a pulse of 60 beats per minute.
the ticking sound made by a clock or watch escapement.
one's assigned or regular path or habitual round.
The police officer was familiar with all the businesses on her beat.
Journalism.
Also called newsbeat, run. the particular news source or activity that a reporter is responsible for covering.
She covers the city hall beat.
the reporting of a piece of news in advance, especially before it is reported by a rival or rivals.
Getting the beat on that story was my lucky break as a reporter.
Music.
the audible, visual, or mental marking of the metrical divisions of music.
In 4/4 time, there are four beats to the bar.
a stroke of the hand, baton, etc., marking the time division or an accent for music during performance.
Watch the conductor carefully so you can come in on his first beat.
Theater., a momentary time unit imagined by an actor in timing actions.
Wait four beats and then pick up the phone.
Prosody., the accent stress, or ictus, in a foot or rhythmical unit of poetry.
Physics., a pulsation caused by the coincidence of the amplitudes of two oscillations of unequal frequencies, having a frequency equal to the difference between the frequencies of the two oscillations.
a subdivision of a county, such as in Mississippi.
Informal., Often Beat beatnik.
adjective
Informal., exhausted; worn out.
After all that gardening I was too beat to do anything but lie on the sofa.
Often Beat relating to or characteristic of members of the Beat Generation or beatniks.
Jack Kerouac was a Beat poet.
verb phrase
beat out
Informal., to defeat; win or be chosen over.
We beat out the competition for that contract.
Baseball., (of a hitter) to make (an infield ground ball or bunt) into a hit.
He beat out a weak grounder to third.
to produce hurriedly, especially by writing or typing.
There are three days left to beat out the first draft of the novel.
Carpentry., to cut (a mortise).
beat off
to ward off; repulse.
We had to beat off clouds of mosquitoes.
Slang: Vulgar., to masturbate.
beat back, to force back; compel to withdraw.
They beat back the attackers.
beat about
to search through; scour.
After beating about for several hours, he turned up the missing papers.
Nautical., to tack into the wind.
beat up
Also beat up on to strike repeatedly so as to cause painful injury.
Two bullies beat him up on the way home from school.
In the third round the champion really began to beat up on the challenger.
British Informal., to find or gather; scare up.
I'll beat up some lunch for us while you make out the shopping list.
beat down., beatdown.
beat
/ biːt /
verb
to strike with or as if with a series of violent blows; dash or pound repeatedly (against)
(tr) to punish by striking; flog
to move or cause to move up and down; flap
the bird beat its wings heavily
(intr) to throb rhythmically; pulsate
her heart beat fast
(tr) to make (one's way) by or as if by blows
she beat her way out of the crowd
cookery to stir or whisk (an ingredient or mixture) vigorously
to shape, make thin, or flatten (a piece of metal) by repeated blows
(tr) music to indicate (time) by the motion of one's hand, baton, etc, or by the action of a metronome
to produce (a sound or signal) by or as if by striking a drum
to sound or cause to sound, by or as if by beating
beat the drums!
to overcome (an opponent) in a contest, battle, etc
(tr; often foll by back, down, off etc) to drive, push, or thrust
(tr) to arrive or finish before (someone or something); anticipate or forestall
they set off early to beat the rush hour
(tr) to form (a path or track) by repeatedly walking or riding over it
to scour (woodlands, coverts, or undergrowth) so as to rouse game for shooting
slang, (tr) to puzzle or baffle
it beats me how he can do that
(intr) physics (of sounds or electrical signals) to combine and produce a pulsating sound or signal
(intr) nautical to steer a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
slang, (tr) to cheat or defraud
he beat his brother out of the inheritance
to avoid the point at issue; prevaricate
to withdraw or depart in haste
slang, (often imperative) to go away
See breast
slang, to kill by knocking severely about the head
informal, to reach a place or achieve an objective before someone else
(formerly) to define the boundaries of a parish by making a procession around them and hitting the ground with rods
slang, an expression of utter amazement or surprise
noun
a stroke or blow
the sound made by a stroke or blow
a regular sound or stroke; throb
an assigned or habitual round or route, as of a policeman or sentry
( as modifier )
beat police officers
the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music, usually grouped in twos, threes, or fours
pop or rock music characterized by a heavy rhythmic beat
( as modifier )
a beat group
physics the low regular frequency produced by combining two sounds or electrical signals that have similar frequencies
horology the impulse given to the balance wheel by the action of the escapement
prosody the accent, stress, or ictus in a metrical foot
nautical a course that steers a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
the act of scouring for game by beating
the organized scouring of a particular woodland so as to rouse the game in it
the woodland where game is so roused
short for beatnik
fencing a sharp tap with one's blade on an opponent's blade to deflect it
(modifier, often capital) of, characterized by, or relating to the Beat Generation
a beat poet
beat philosophy
adjective
slang, (postpositive) totally exhausted
beat
A fluctuation or pulsation, usually repeated, in the amplitude of a signal. Beats are generally produced by the superposition of two waves of different frequencies; if the signals are audible, this results in fluctuations between louder and quieter sound.
Other Word Forms
- beatable adjective
- overbeat verb overbeat, overbeaten, overbeat, overbeating
- underbeat noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of beat1
Word History and Origins
Origin of beat1
Idioms and Phrases
beat the air / wind, to make repeated futile attempts.
beat all, to surpass anything of a similar nature, especially in an astonishing or outrageous way.
The way he came in here and ordered us around beats all!
beat around / about the bush, to avoid coming to the point; delay in approaching a subject directly.
off one's beat, outside of one's routine, general knowledge, or range of experience.
He protested that abstract art was off his beat.
beat it, to depart; go away.
He was pestering me, so I told him to beat it.
beat the rap, to succeed in evading the penalty for a crime; be acquitted.
on the beat, in the correct rhythm or tempo.
By the end of the number they were all finally playing on the beat.
beat a retreat, to withdraw or retreat, especially hurriedly or in disgrace.
More idioms and phrases containing beat
- dead beat
- heart misses a beat
- if you can't beat them, join them
- march to a different beat
- miss a beat
- off the beaten track
- pound the pavement (a beat)
- to beat the band
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
"And whilst I was isolated, the press... were able to beat me up in the dark. That's been happening for about the last eight years. And I chose to leave the UK."
But what should concern him isn’t the Republicans who no longer like him or the Democrats who have trouble beating him.
Fortunately for Helton, he took the Eagles to a bowl game in his first season, beat Nebraska on the road and even notched a top-25 win against James Madison.
American veteran Riggs beat Australia's Margaret Court before King exacted revenge four months later.
Yes, England beat West Indies 3-0, but they are not a strong team.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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