beaten
Americanadjective
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formed or shaped by blows; hammered.
a dish of beaten brass.
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much trodden; commonly used.
a beaten path.
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defeated; vanquished; thwarted.
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overcome by exhaustion; fatigued by hard work, intense activity, etc.
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(of food) whipped up, pounded, pulverized, or the like.
adding three beaten eggs.
idioms
adjective
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defeated or baffled
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shaped or made thin by hammering
a bowl of beaten gold
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much travelled; well trodden (esp in the phrase the beaten track )
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in or into unfamiliar territory
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out of the ordinary; unusual
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(of food) mixed by beating; whipped
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tired out; exhausted
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hunting (of woods, undergrowth, etc) scoured so as to rouse game
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of beaten
before 1100; Middle English beten, Old English bēaten, past participle of bēatan to beat
Explanation
Something that's beaten has been made smooth or thin from repeated impact, like the beaten surface of a silver bracelet, or the beaten path that leads to your hideout in the woods. To make something beaten, you have to beat it — strike or hammer it repeatedly. Food can also be beaten, like the beaten egg whites you put in a cake to make it light and fluffy. In this case, they're stirred with vigor. And when a person is beaten, they're despondent or defeated: "The beaten expression on his face showed how exhausting the last tennis match had been." Beaten comes from beat and its root meaning "to strike."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He still hopes to see China's return to football's biggest stage, having watched them beaten 4-0 by Brazil at the 2002 World Cup.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
And in the last year it has beaten the U.S. and tied No. 2 Spain.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Caligiuri faked right then cut left, the beaten defender sticking his right leg out wildly in protest.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
They were beaten by both Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Antonelli, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described the lap with which the Italian beat the four-time champion as "unbelievable".
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
We hiked through the sparse woods, making our way carefully down the beaten path we had created that summer, the summer of the mariposas.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
