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• beat-up
  beat-up

  adjective

  dilapidated; in poor condition from use.
• beat up
  beat up

  verb

  (tr, adverb) to strike or kick (a person), usually repeatedly, so as to inflict severe physical damage

beat-up

American  

[beet-uhp] / ˈbitˈʌp /

adjective

1. Informal. dilapidated; in poor condition from use.

   a beat-up old jalopy.

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noun

1. the warpwise count of tufts of pile in the warp of carpets.

beat up British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to strike or kick (a person), usually repeatedly, so as to inflict severe physical damage

2. informal to reproach oneself

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adjective

1. worn-out; dilapidated

beat up Idioms  

1. Strike repeatedly, as in She told the police her husband had beaten her up . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]

2. Also, beat up on . Attack verbally, as in That newspaper article really beat up on the town council . [ Slang ; late 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of beat-up

First recorded in 1935–40; adj., noun use of verb phrase beat up

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beat-up beat up

A TV commercial featured two guys in a beat-up muscle car ogling a Ram truck at a stoplight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

This should provide a badly needed injection of adrenaline to the beat-up small business sector.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026

Sadly, he only sells enough tomes to keep gas in his beat-up van and pursue his calling as Tulsa’s resident “truthstorian,” a blend of journalist and conspiracist.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2025

But they’ll get there—in the same way a young car-shopper starts with a beat-up old jalopy, he argued, eventually they’ll walk onto the lot in middle age looking for a pricey new Cadillac.

From Slate ● May 25, 2025

“I’ve been tryin’ to fix it,” Genie said, now staring down at his beat-up Converses.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

After the incident, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the agent was "beat up" and "bruised", adding ICE officers were "following protocols that we have used for years" from before the Trump administration.

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026

“I would say that our agent is beat up, he’s bruised, he’s injured, he’s getting treatment,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters Thursday, saying the agency was “thankful that he made it out alive.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026

Semiconductor stocks got beat up Tuesday, as did other companies tied to the AI trade.

From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025

But if Smith was a little beat up physically, his mental approach and his ability to keep things simple never wavered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2025

You look hard at most anything, and it’s probably beat up somewhere or other.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• batter