beat
26 ENTRIES FOUND:
- beat (verb)
- beat (noun)
- beat (adjective)
- beaten (adjective)
- beating (noun)
- beat–up (adjective)
- weather–beaten (adjective)
- band (noun)
- brain (noun)
- bush (noun)
- clock (noun)
- dead (adjective)
- drum (noun)
- heart (noun)
- horse (noun)
- join (verb)
- miss (verb)
- path (noun)
- plowshare (noun)
- punch (noun)
- rap (noun)
- skip (verb)
- stick (noun)
- sword (noun)
- track (noun)
- world–beater (noun)
Britannica Dictionary definition of BEAT
1
:
to hit (something) repeatedly
[+ object]
-
He beat the door with his fists. = He beat his fists against/on the door.
-
He beat the dusty rug with a stick. = He beat a stick against the dusty rug.
-
He beat the dust out of the rug with a stick.
-
She used a hammer to beat the metal into shape.
-
She used a hammer to beat the nail into the wall.
-
The dented metal was beaten flat.
-
The waves were beating the shore.
[no object]
-
He beat at/against/on the door with his fists.
-
The waves were beating on/against the shore.
-
The rain beat on the roof.
2
[+ object]
:
to hit (someone) repeatedly in order to cause pain or injury
—
see also beating, beat up (below), beat up on (below)
-
They beat him with clubs.
-
He was beaten badly/savagely/brutally.
-
a man accused of beating his wife
-
They beat him to the ground. [=they hit him repeatedly and he fell to the ground]
-
They threatened to beat the (living) daylights out of him. [=to beat him very badly]
-
He was beaten to death.
3
:
to hit (a drum) repeatedly in order to produce music or a signal
—
see also beat the drum for at 1drum
[+ object]
-
The drummer kept beating his drum.
-
the sound of a beaten drum
-
They beat (out) a message on their drums.
-
The drum kept beating (out) its rhythm.
[no object]
-
The drummer kept beating.
-
The drum kept beating.
-
the sound of a beating drum
4
cooking
:
to stir or mix (something) in a forceful way
[+ object]
-
She used a whisk to beat the eggs.
-
The recipe says you should beat the eggs lightly/thoroughly/well.
-
Slowly beat the sugar into the batter. = Slowly beat in the sugar. = Slowly beat the sugar in.
[no object]
-
Separate out the egg whites and beat until stiff.
5
:
to move (wings) with an up and down motion
[+ object]
-
The bird was beating [=flapping] its wings.
[no object]
-
the sound of beating wings
6
[no object]
of the heart
:
to make the regular movements needed to pump blood
-
My heart was beating wildly/frantically with excitement and my pulse was racing!
-
(humorous) We get free doughnuts? Be still, my beating heart!
7
[+ object]
a
:
to defeat (someone) in a game, contest, etc.
-
He gets very angry when I beat him at chess.
-
We beat them 14 to 3.
-
Our team was badly beaten in the championship game.
-
She was narrowly beaten in the previous election, but she won this time.
-
We beat them soundly/convincingly/comfortably/easily/badly. = (US) We beat the pants off them.
-
They tried to lure away our customers by offering deep discounts, but we beat them at their own game. [=we offered even deeper discounts than they did]
◊ People say if you can't beat them, join them or if you can't beat 'em, join 'em when they decide to do what other people are doing and to stop opposing them.
b
:
to do better than (something)
-
She managed to beat the old record by several seconds.
-
We can still beat the deadline if we work quickly.
-
His wonderful performance will be hard/tough to beat. = His wonderful performance will take some beating. [=it will be difficult for anyone to do better than his wonderful performance]
-
Most new restaurants fail, but this one somehow managed to beat the odds. [=this one succeeded even though it did not have a good chance of succeeding]
◊ People say can you beat that? when they are surprised or angry about something.
-
Can you beat that?! A person like him being elected mayor! [=it is surprising or ridiculous to think that a person like him has been elected mayor]
c
not used in progressive tenses
:
to be better than (something)
-
For sheer luxury you can't beat a nice hot bath. = For sheer luxury, nothing beats a nice hot bath. = For sheer luxury, a nice hot bath beats anything.
d
:
to control or overcome (something)
-
By working together we can beat crime!
-
(US) His favorite way of beating the heat [=remaining cool in hot weather] is to have a couple of cold beers.
e
:
to be too difficult for (someone)
-
This problem has beaten everyone. [=no one has been able to solve this problem]
◊ The informal expression (it) beats me means “I don't know.”
-
“How did she manage to fix the problem so quickly?” “Beats me.”
-
I don't believe anything he tells me. It beats me how people can continue to trust him.
8
[+ object]
a
:
to come, arrive, or act before (someone or something)
-
I beat him narrowly to the finish line. [=I reached the finish line slightly before he did]
-
I bet I can beat you to the front door!
-
I wondered which of us would finish our work first, but she beat me to it by two days. [=she finished two days before I did]
b
:
to avoid having problems with (something) by acting earlier
-
We left early so that we could beat the traffic.
-
We got to the store when it opened and managed to beat the rush.
beat a dead horse
beat a path
:
to make a path by walking over the ground many times
— sometimes used figuratively
-
They beat a path through the woods to the stream.
-
If you work hard and well, success will beat a path to your door. [=you will be very successful]
beat a retreat
:
to leave quickly
-
A group of teenagers was causing trouble, but they beat a hasty retreat when the cops arrived.
beat around/about the bush
beat back
[phrasal verb]
beat back (someone)
or
beat (someone) back
:
to force (someone) to go back or to retreat by fighting
-
Our troops were beaten back by enemy forces.
beat down
[phrasal verb]
1
of the sun
:
to shine down with great heat and strength
-
The blazing sun was beating down on us mercilessly/relentlessly.
2
beat (something) down
or
beat down (something)
:
to hit (something, such as a door) so that it falls down
— often used figuratively
-
The police had to beat down the door to get into the house.
-
The storm beat down the crops.
-
Years of failure had beaten him down. [=had caused him to lose hope or spirit]
3
chiefly British
a
beat (someone) down
or
beat down (someone)
:
to cause (someone) to lower a price
-
I beat her down from £30 to £15.
b
beat (a price) down
or
beat down (a price)
:
to cause someone to lower (a price)
-
I beat her asking price down from £30 to £15.
beat it
informal
:
to go away quickly
— often used as a command
-
The teenagers beat it when the cops arrived.
-
Stop bothering me. Beat it! [=get lost]
beat off
[phrasal verb]
1
beat off (someone or something)
or
beat (someone or something) off
:
to force (someone or something) to go away by fighting
— sometimes used figuratively
-
She managed to beat off her attacker.
-
The company has managed to beat off [=fight off] its competitors and maintain control of the market.
2
beat out
[phrasal verb]
1
beat out (something)
or
beat (something) out
a
:
to put out (a fire) by beating
-
The fire was raging but we managed to beat it out.
b
baseball
:
to turn (a ground ball) into a base hit by running fast to first base
-
He beat out a bunt.
2
beat out (someone or something)
or
beat (someone or something) out
US
:
to defeat or overcome (a person, team, etc.)
-
They were beaten out [=beaten] in the semifinals.
-
She thought she would get the job, but someone else beat her out. [=someone else got the job]
beat someone to the punch
beat the clock
beat the rap
beat up
[phrasal verb]
beat up (someone)
or
beat (someone) up
:
to hurt or injure (someone) by hitting
— sometimes used figuratively
—
see also beat-up
-
A gang of bullies threatened to beat him up.
-
He was beaten up badly by the bullies.
-
a politician who is getting beat/beaten up by liberal/conservative critics
-
He's been beating himself up [=he has been harshly blaming or criticizing himself] because of the failure of his marriage.
beat up on
[phrasal verb]
beat up on (someone)
US, informal
:
to hit (someone) repeatedly in order to cause pain or injury
:
to beat (someone)
— sometimes used figuratively
-
A gang of bullies was beating up on him.
-
a politician who is getting beat up on by his critics
to beat the band
-
an easily beatable opponent [=an opponent that can be easily defeated]
2
beat
/ˈbiːt/
noun
plural
beats
2
beat
/ˈbiːt/
noun
plural
beats
Britannica Dictionary definition of BEAT
1
a
[count]
:
the act of beating
—
see also heart skips a beat at heart
-
a single beat on a drum
-
a beat of the bird's wings
-
a single beat of his heart [=a single heartbeat]
b
[singular]
:
a sound produced by beating
-
We could hear the steady beat of the waves against the shore.
-
They danced to the beat of the drums.
-
listening to the beat of his heart
3
[count]
:
a place or area that someone (such as a policeman) regularly goes to, walks through, or covers as part of a job
— usually singular
-
The policeman was patrolling/pounding his/the beat. = The policeman was on his/the beat.
-
a reporter's beat
miss a beat
chiefly US
:
to have difficulty in continuing
:
to stop or hesitate briefly
-
He answered their questions without missing a beat. [=he answered all their questions very easily and without hesitating]
-
He answered all their questions and never missed a beat.
-
He didn't miss a beat.
3
beat
/ˈbiːt/
adjective
3
beat
/ˈbiːt/
adjective
Britannica Dictionary definition of BEAT
not used before a noun
informal
