beat down
Britishverb
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informal (tr) to force or persuade (a seller) to accept a lower price
I beat him down three pounds
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(intr) (of the sun) to shine intensely; be very hot
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Force or drive down; defeat or subdue. For example, “And finally to beat down Satan under our feet” ( The Book of Common Prayer , 1552). [c. 1400]
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Strike violently, as in the The sun kept beating down on us all day long . [Mid-1800s]
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beat someone down . Make someone lower a price, as in He's always trying to beat us down . Economist Jeremy Bentham used this idiom in 1793: “Thus monopoly will beat down prices.” [ Slang ; late 1700s]
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.
A hot sun beat down on the Pocomoke River when Tracy and Steve Hurley claimed choice seats two hours before the Aug. 15 showdown featuring 10 boats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Outside Glasgow Green vendors had switched from selling water-proof ponchos on Friday to sunglasses and bottles of water, as the sun beat down on crowds heading towards the event.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
He knows no other way to beat down the constant text alerts of attacks that are breaking his brain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Put the beat down to surging demand for Invisalign and other dental products.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
A hot spring sun beat down without relief.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
