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beating

American  
[bee-ting] / ˈbi tɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of a person or thing that beats, as to punish, clean, mix, etc..

    Give the rug a good beating.

  2. a defeat or reverse; loss; setback

    Several stocks took a beating in the market today.

  3. pulsation; throbbing.

    the beating of her heart.
beating British  
/ ˈbiːtɪŋ /

noun

  1. a whipping or thrashing, as in punishment

  2. a defeat or setback

  3. to be difficult to improve upon

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of beating

First recorded in 1200–50; from Middle English betynge; beat, -ing 1

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.

Sale booked their spot in the last 16 by beating Sharks in Manchester on Saturday.

From BBC

Palace arrived in Cheshire with an injury-hit squad and without a win in eight games, but few expected them to lose less than eight months after beating Manchester City in the 2024-25 FA Cup final.

From BBC

The Eagles then won the Community Shield in August, beating Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties, and are 14th in the table and through to the knockout phase play-offs in the Uefa Conference League.

From BBC

Videos posted on social media showed crowds of demonstrators gathering in the capital’s central market—the beating heart of Iran’s economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

The canal remained a key transit node for U.S. grain heading to Asia—but this role wasn’t as close to the beating heart of the U.S. economy.

From Barron's

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.