Definition

1. Verb:

   • To hit repeatedly and forcefully.
   • To defeat or do better than someone in a competition or conflict.
   • To mix ingredients vigorously by stirring or striking rapidly.
   • To move rhythmically, often referring to the heart or a pulse.
   • To make a regular sound by striking, like a drum.
   • To shape metal by striking it repeatedly.
   • To avoid or evade something, often a payment or obligation.
   • To be superior or more enjoyable than something else.
   • To move (wings) up and down.

2. Noun:

   • A regular, rhythmic stroke, sound, or unit of time in music.
   • The regular pulsation of the heart or arteries.
   • A specific area or route regularly patrolled, especially by a police officer.
   • A stroke or blow.
   • The basic rhythmic unit in a line of poetry.

3. Adjective:

   • Extremely tired or exhausted.

Usage

• Verb (to hit): Use when describing striking something multiple times.
• Verb (to defeat): Use in competitive contexts.
• Verb (to mix): Use in cooking contexts.
• Verb (to pulsate): Use for biological or rhythmic motion.
• Noun (rhythm): Use in music or poetry.
• Noun (area): Use for a designated patrol route.
• Adjective (tired): Use informally to describe exhaustion.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The rain beat against the windowpane all night.
  • She managed to beat the previous world record.
  • Beat the cream until it forms soft peaks.
  • Why does my head beat like this when I have a headache?
  • The blacksmith beat the hot iron into shape.
  • He tried to beat the traffic by leaving early.
  • A good book beats watching television any day.
  • The bird beat its wings frantically to escape.
• Noun:
  • The drummer kept a perfect beat.
  • I could feel the beat of his heart when I hugged him.
  • The police car slowly drove around the neighborhood beat.
  • The signal was three beats on the metal pipe.
  • The poem follows a strict iambic beat.
• Adjective:
  • I'm beat; I need to go to bed.
  • They were beat after the long hike.

Advanced Usage

• "to beat around the bush": To avoid talking about something directly or to delay coming to the main point.
  • Stop beating around the bush and tell me what happened.
• "to beat a retreat": To withdraw or run away, especially from a difficult situation.
  • When the rain started, we had to beat a retreat back to the car.
• "to beat the odds": To succeed despite a low probability of success.
  • The small company beat the odds and became very successful.
• "Off the beaten track/path": In a place that is remote, isolated, or not frequently visited.
  • The cabin is off the beaten track, far from any town.

Variants and Related Words

• Beaten (adj.):
  • Shaped or made thin by hammering. "a beaten copper bowl"
  • Much trodden or used. "a beaten path"
  • Defeated. "a beaten team"
• Beater (n.): A tool or person that beats something.
• Beat-up (adj., informal): Worn out or damaged from heavy use.

Synonyms

• Verb (hit): Strike, pound, batter, hammer.
• Verb (defeat): Defeat, conquer, vanquish, triumph over, outdo.
• Noun (rhythm): Rhythm, pulse, tempo, meter.
• Adjective (tired): Exhausted, worn out, bushed, dead tired.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Beat down:
  • To strike with great force (e.g., sun, rain). "The sun was beating down on us."
  • To persuade someone to lower a price. "I managed to beat the price down by twenty dollars."
• Beat out:
  • To extinguish a fire by beating. "They beat out the flames with blankets."
  • To defeat narrowly. "She beat out two other candidates for the job."
• Beat up:
  • To assault someone by hitting them repeatedly. "He was beaten up by a gang."
  • To mix vigorously. "Beat up the eggs before adding the flour."
• Beat off:
  • To repel or drive back an attack. "The soldiers beat off the enemy assault."

Related Idioms

• Beat it! (slang): A rude command telling someone to go away immediately.
  • He told the annoying kids to beat it.
• To beat a dead horse: To waste time and effort on a topic that is already settled or a situation that cannot be changed.
  • Arguing about it now is just beating a dead horse.
• To beat someone to the punch: To do something before someone else does.
  • I wanted to buy that vintage chair, but she beat me to the punch.
• To beat the clock: To finish something just before a deadline.
  • We worked all night to beat the clock and submit the proposal on time.

Adjective

1. 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

1. the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
2. a stroke or blow
   • the signal was two beats on the steam pipe
3. a regular rate of repetition
   • the cox raised the beat
4. (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
5. the sound of stroke or blow
   • he heard the beat of a drum
6. a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior
7. 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
8. the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
   • the piece has a fast rhythm
   • the conductor set the beat
9. the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart
   • he could feel the beat of her heart
10. 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

1. wear out completely
   • This kind of work exhausts me
   • I'm beat
   • He was all washed up after the exam
2. 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
3. beat through cleverness and wit
   • I beat the traffic
   • She outfoxed her competitors
4. strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting
5. produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly
   • beat the drum
6. make by pounding or trampling
   • beat a path through the forest
7. move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
   • the city pulsated with music and excitement
8. indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks
   • Beat the rhythm
9. move with a flapping motion
   • The bird's wings were flapping
10. make a sound like a clock or a timer
    • the clocks were ticking
    • the grandfather clock beat midnight
11. avoid paying
    • beat the subway fare
12. be superior
    • Reading beats watching television
    • This sure beats work!
13. 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
14. stir vigorously
    • beat the egg whites
    • beat the cream
15. sail with much tacking or with difficulty
    • The boat beat in the strong wind
16. move with a thrashing motion
    • The bird flapped its wings
    • The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky
17. glare or strike with great intensity
    • The sun was beating down on us
18. make a rhythmic sound
    • Rain drummed against the windshield
    • The drums beat all night
19. shape by beating
    • beat swords into ploughshares
20. move rhythmically
    • Her heart was beating fast
21. hit repeatedly
    • beat on the door
    • beat the table with his shoe
22. 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
23. 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