beat

American  

[beet] / bit /

verb (used with object)

• beats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beat,
  past
• beaten,
  past participle
• beating
  present participle

1. 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.

   Synonyms:

   flog, buffet, cudgel, pommel, baste, maul, drub, batter, belabor

2. to dash against.

   We could hear the rain beating the trees outside the window.

3. to flutter, flap, or rotate in or against.

   The hummingbird beat the air with its wings.

4. to overcome in a contest; defeat.

   They beat us by 12 points.

   Synonyms:

   overpower, vanquish, subdue, conquer

5. to win over in a race (used withto ).

   I'll beat you to the corner!

6. to be superior to.

   Making reservations beats waiting in line.

   Synonyms:

   excel, surpass, outdo

7. Informal. to be incomprehensible to; baffle.

   It beats me how he got the job.

8. 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.

9. to sound, such as on a drum.

   She beat a steady rhythm on the bongos.

10. to stir vigorously.

    Beat the egg whites well.

11. to break, forge, or make by blows.

    The blacksmith beat the red-hot iron into a horseshoe.

12. 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.

13. to make (a path) by repeated walking.

    Kids had beaten a path through the woods to the river.

14. to strike (a person or animal) repeatedly and injuriously.

    Some of the hoodlums beat their victims viciously before robbing them.

15. 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.

16. Hunting. to scour (the forest, grass, or brush), and sometimes make noise, in order to rouse game.

17. Slang. to swindle; cheat (often followed byout ).

    He beat him out of hundreds of dollars on that deal.

18. to escape or avoid (blame or punishment).

19. Textiles. to strike (the loose pick) into its proper place in the woven cloth by beating the loosely deposited filling yarn with the reed.

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verb (used without object)

• beats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beat,
  past
• beaten,
  past participle
• beating
  present participle

1. to strike repeated blows; pound.

   She kept beating on my door, so I finally opened it.

2. to throb or pulsate.

   His heart began to beat faster.

3. to dash; strike (usually followed by against oron ).

   The sound of hail beating on the roof was deafening.

4. to make a sound when struck.

   We could hear drums beating in the distance.

5. to play, such as on a drum.

   I began beating softly on the drums, picking up the rhythm as they sang.

6. to achieve victory in a contest; win.

   Which team do you think will beat?

7. to scour cover for game.

8. Physics. to make a beat or beats.

9. (of a cooking ingredient) to foam or stiffen as a result of beating or whipping.

   This cream won't beat.

10. Nautical. to tack to windward by sailing close-hauled.

noun

• beats
  plural

1. a stroke or blow.

   A beat on the head with that thing could kill you.

2. the sound made by one or more blows.

   The beat of drums was coming from the school’s music room.

3. a throb or pulsation.

   The patient had a pulse of 60 beats per minute.

4. the ticking sound made by a clock or watch escapement.

5. one's assigned or regular path or habitual round.

   The police officer was familiar with all the businesses on her beat.

6. Journalism.

   1. Also called newsbeat, run. the particular news source or activity that a reporter is responsible for covering.

      She covers the city hall beat.

   2. 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.

7. Music.

   1. the audible, visual, or mental marking of the metrical divisions of music.

      In 4/4 time, there are four beats to the bar.

   2. 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.

8. Theater. a momentary time unit imagined by an actor in timing actions.

   Wait four beats and then pick up the phone.

9. Prosody. the accent stress, or ictus, in a foot or rhythmical unit of poetry.

10. 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.

11. a subdivision of a county, such as in Mississippi.

12. Informal. Often Beat beatnik.

adjective

1. Informal. exhausted; worn out.

   After all that gardening I was too beat to do anything but lie on the sofa.

2. Often Beat relating to or characteristic of members of the Beat Generation or beatniks.

   Jack Kerouac was a Beat poet.

verb phrase

1. beat out

   1. Informal. to defeat; win or be chosen over.

      We beat out the competition for that contract.

   2. Baseball. (of a hitter) to make (an infield ground ball or bunt) into a hit.

      He beat out a weak grounder to third.

   3. to produce hurriedly, especially by writing or typing.

      There are three days left to beat out the first draft of the novel.

   4. Carpentry. to cut (a mortise).

2. beat off

   1. to ward off; repulse.

      We had to beat off clouds of mosquitoes.

   2. Slang: Vulgar. to masturbate.

3. beat back to force back; compel to withdraw.

   They beat back the attackers.

4. beat about

   1. to search through; scour.

      After beating about for several hours, he turned up the missing papers.

   2. Nautical. to tack into the wind.

5. beat up

   1. 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.

   2. British Informal. to find or gather; scare up.

      I'll beat up some lunch for us while you make out the shopping list.

6. beat down. see beatdown.

idioms

1. beat the air / wind, to make repeated futile attempts.

2. 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!

3. beat around / about the bush, to avoid coming to the point; delay in approaching a subject directly.

4. off one's beat, outside of one's routine, general knowledge, or range of experience.

   He protested that abstract art was off his beat.

5. beat it, to depart; go away.

   He was pestering me, so I told him to beat it.

6. beat the rap, to succeed in evading the penalty for a crime; be acquitted.

7. on the beat, in the correct rhythm or tempo.

   By the end of the number they were all finally playing on the beat.

8. beat a retreat, to withdraw or retreat, especially hurriedly or in disgrace.

beat British  

/ biːt /

verb

1. to strike with or as if with a series of violent blows; dash or pound repeatedly (against)

2. (tr) to punish by striking; flog

3. to move or cause to move up and down; flap

   the bird beat its wings heavily

4. (intr) to throb rhythmically; pulsate

   her heart beat fast

5. (tr) to make (one's way) by or as if by blows

   she beat her way out of the crowd

6. cookery to stir or whisk (an ingredient or mixture) vigorously

7. to shape, make thin, or flatten (a piece of metal) by repeated blows

8. (tr) music to indicate (time) by the motion of one's hand, baton, etc, or by the action of a metronome

9. to produce (a sound or signal) by or as if by striking a drum

10. to sound or cause to sound, by or as if by beating

    beat the drums!

11. to overcome (an opponent) in a contest, battle, etc

12. (tr; often foll by back, down, off etc) to drive, push, or thrust

13. (tr) to arrive or finish before (someone or something); anticipate or forestall

    they set off early to beat the rush hour

14. (tr) to form (a path or track) by repeatedly walking or riding over it

15. to scour (woodlands, coverts, or undergrowth) so as to rouse game for shooting

16. slang (tr) to puzzle or baffle

    it beats me how he can do that

17. (intr) physics (of sounds or electrical signals) to combine and produce a pulsating sound or signal

18. (intr) nautical to steer a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

19. slang (tr) to cheat or defraud

    he beat his brother out of the inheritance

20. to avoid the point at issue; prevaricate

21. to withdraw or depart in haste

22. slang (often imperative) to go away

23. See breast

24. slang to kill by knocking severely about the head

25. informal to reach a place or achieve an objective before someone else

26. (formerly) to define the boundaries of a parish by making a procession around them and hitting the ground with rods

27. slang an expression of utter amazement or surprise

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noun

1. a stroke or blow

2. the sound made by a stroke or blow

3. a regular sound or stroke; throb

4. 1. an assigned or habitual round or route, as of a policeman or sentry

   2. ( as modifier )

      beat police officers

5. the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music, usually grouped in twos, threes, or fours

6. 1. pop or rock music characterized by a heavy rhythmic beat

   2. ( as modifier )

      a beat group

7. physics the low regular frequency produced by combining two sounds or electrical signals that have similar frequencies

8. horology the impulse given to the balance wheel by the action of the escapement

9. prosody the accent, stress, or ictus in a metrical foot

10. nautical a course that steers a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

11. 1. the act of scouring for game by beating

    2. the organized scouring of a particular woodland so as to rouse the game in it

    3. the woodland where game is so roused

12. short for beatnik

13. fencing a sharp tap with one's blade on an opponent's blade to deflect it

14. (modifier, often capital) of, characterized by, or relating to the Beat Generation

    a beat poet

    beat philosophy

adjective

1. slang (postpositive) totally exhausted

beat Scientific  

/ bēt /

1. 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.

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beat More Idioms  

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

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Synonym Usage

Beat, hit, pound, strike, thrash refer to the giving of a blow or blows. Beat implies the giving of repeated blows: to beat a rug. To hit is usually to give a single blow, definitely directed: to hit a ball. To pound is to give heavy and repeated blows, often with the fist: to pound a nail, the table. To strike is to give one or more forceful blows suddenly or swiftly: to strike a gong. To thrash implies inflicting repeated blows as punishment, to show superior strength, and the like: to thrash a prisoner. See pulsate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underbeat
  noun
• overbeat
  verb
• beatable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beats
  plural

Participles

• beating
  present
• beaten
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• beat
  simple
• beats
  simple
• have beaten
  perfect
• has beaten
  perfect
• am beating
  progressive
• are beating
  progressive
• is beating
  progressive
• have been beating
  perfect progressive
• has been beating
  perfect progressive

Past

• beat
  simple
• had beaten
  perfect
• was beating
  progressive
• were beating
  progressive
• had been beating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will beat
  simple
• will have beaten
  perfect
• will be beating
  progressive
• will have been beating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of beat

First recorded before 900; Middle English beten, Old English bēatan; cognate with Old Norse bauta, Middle Low German bōten, Old High German bōzzan; akin to Middle Irish búalaim “I hit,” Latin fūstis “stick”

Explanation

Beat can mean “hit repeatedly,” “stir vigorously,” or “defeat.” A beat can also be a rhythmic pulse, a physical blow, or a funky poet. In terms of number of definitions, it’s hard to beat this little word. Along with its many definitions, beat is featured in a wide variety of idioms. If someone tells you to "beat it," he wants you to go away. If you "beat around the bush," you're not getting to the point. If you "beat the clock," you finish something just in time. One thing beat is not, however, is a nutritious, red root. That's a beet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beat beats beaten beating

The bottom line: Yet again, we see that it’s incredibly difficult to beat a simple strategy of buying and holding a broad stock-market index fund.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

He even polled users on Truth Social, where "super intelligence" beat out the other option, "superior intelligence."

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The Cottagers were unlucky not to beat Manchester United before the break, and I was impressed with them when I watched them draw with Liverpool last month too.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

They shopped for cowboy hats, ate gigantic steaks and beat the five-time champion Brazilians along the way.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

"We will beat Sheba at her own game. She forgets we are not bukshah, to be led about so easily."

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

His past beats include U.K. politics, travel, music and culture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

In 2011, Joe Kay debuted Soulection as a college radio show at Cal State Long Beach, spinning rare B-sides, progressive beats, inventive flips of classic records and soulful underground tracks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

It also overestimated diastolic blood pressure, the bottom number, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats, by 4.0 mmHg.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

For one, it was a blast of cold coffee to the face to realize that what qualifies as a career-derailing flop in 2006 meets or beats the quality of most made-for-Netflix features.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

Ancient music, such as Gregorian chants; new music, such as some experimental twentieth-century art music; and Non-Western music, such as some native American flute music, may not have a strong, repetitive pattern of beats.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

The host Patriots hadn’t lost a league game since 2017 and had beaten Cleveland 13 consecutive times, by an average score of 40-8.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

"You just spend the whole day feeling completely beaten down."

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Despite the slowdown, global M&A volumes rose by 27% to $4.44 trillion over the first nine months of the year, a total beaten only by the post-Covid surge in deal-making of 2021.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Francesco Farioli's side were beaten at home by Manchester City in their opening Champions League game.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The walls were covered with thinly beaten gold, and the floor was a marvel of mirrors and sapphire pools.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

The new report from S&P Dow Jones Indices also puts to rest the argument that AI would lead to a greater percentage of mutual funds beating the market.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

India went on to lose to England in the final, but beating Australia was a monumental hurdle overcome.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Freddie Freeman says the Dodgers need to overcome their reliance on home runs if they want to improve their chances of beating the Braves in the NLDS.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

This makes the recent fall in the markets more worrying - since households, already struggling from a weak job market, high inflation and faltering consumption, are now seeing their equity savings take a beating too.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

But a migraine didn’t explain how Anat could possibly know anything about the last date she’d gone on with a beating heart.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• batter
• break
• crush
• hit
• knock
• pummel
• punch
• rap
• strike
• thrash
• thump
• trounce
• whip