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beat time

Idioms

Mark musical time by beating a drum, clapping, tapping the foot, or a similar means. For example, Even as a baby, Dave always beat time when he heard music. [Late 1600s]

Example Sentences

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beat time

A man in a wheelchair wearing a pale-gray blazer beat time to the music with his eyes closed, a look of intense joy on his face.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 1, 2018

“Perhaps not,” Alice cautiously replied: “but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.”

From Washington Post ● Jan. 7, 2016

At a private seminar a few weeks ago, Conductor Morton Gould asked Fleisher to beat time with his right hand, and then asked him to pretend that he was playing the piano.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hey!' while my foot beat time upon the sidewalks of Atlantic City.

From Time Magazine Archive

Curving her arms out, bending her knees, she hopped on one foot and beat time with the other.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023