beat

Adjective

• very tired
  • was all in at the end of the day
    
  • so beat I could flop down and go to sleep anywhere
    
  • bushed after all that exercise
    
  • I'm dead after that long trip
    

Noun

• the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

• a stroke or blow
  • the signal was two beats on the steam pipe
    

• a regular rate of repetition
  • the cox raised the beat
    

• (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse

• the sound of stroke or blow
  • he heard the beat of a drum
    

• a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior

• a single pulsation of an oscillation produced by adding two waves of different frequencies; has a frequency equal to the difference between the two oscillations

• the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
  • the piece has a fast rhythm
    
  • the conductor set the beat
    

• the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart
  • he could feel the beat of her heart
    

• a regular route for a sentry or policeman
  • in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name
    

Verb

• wear out completely
  • This kind of work exhausts me
    
  • I'm beat
    
  • He was all washed up after the exam
    

• be a mystery or bewildering to
  • This beats me!
    
  • Got me--I don't know the answer!
    
  • a vexing problem
    
  • This question really stuck me
    

• beat through cleverness and wit
  • I beat the traffic
    
  • She outfoxed her competitors
    

• strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting

• produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly
  • beat the drum
    

• make by pounding or trampling
  • beat a path through the forest
    

• move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
  • the city pulsated with music and excitement
    

• indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks
  • Beat the rhythm
    

• move with a flapping motion
  • The bird's wings were flapping
    

• make a sound like a clock or a timer
  • the clocks were ticking
    
  • the grandfather clock beat midnight
    

• avoid paying
  • beat the subway fare
    

• be superior
  • Reading beats watching television
    
  • This sure beats work!
    

• strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music
  • beat one's breast
    
  • beat one's foot rhythmically
    

• stir vigorously
  • beat the egg whites
    
  • beat the cream
    

• sail with much tacking or with difficulty
  • The boat beat in the strong wind
    

• move with a thrashing motion
  • The bird flapped its wings
    
  • The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky
    

• glare or strike with great intensity
  • The sun was beating down on us
    

• make a rhythmic sound
  • Rain drummed against the windshield
    
  • The drums beat all night
    

• shape by beating
  • beat swords into ploughshares
    

• move rhythmically
  • Her heart was beating fast
    

• hit repeatedly
  • beat on the door
    
  • beat the table with his shoe
    

• give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression
  • Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night
    
  • The teacher used to beat the students
    

• come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
  • Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship
    
  • We beat the competition
    
  • Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  all in(p) , beat(p) , bushed(p) , dead(p) , meter , metre , measure , cadence , beatnik , rhythm , musical rhythm , pulse , pulsation , heartbeat , round , exhaust , wash up , tucker , tucker out , perplex , vex , stick , get , puzzle , mystify , baffle , pose , bewilder , outwit , overreach , outsmart , outfox , circ