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.
Emma Raducanu paid the price for a slow start as she was beaten in the Queen's final by Croatia's Donna Vekic.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Surge, a newsletter that could have beaten Elon Musk to trillionaire status but is consciously pursuing a slow-growth model instead.
From Slate • Jun. 13, 2026
And in the last year it has beaten the U.S. and tied No. 2 Spain.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
He finishes the regular season top of the league-wide standing for carries, offloads and defenders beaten.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
Bare, beaten floor of baked mud, hardened with dung-wash.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
