- present participle of beat.
noun
-
a whipping or thrashing, as in punishment
-
a defeat or setback
-
to be difficult to improve upon
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of beating
First recorded in 1200–50; from Middle English betynge; see 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.
See Examples For:
Freddie Freeman says the Dodgers need to overcome their reliance on home runs if they want to improve their chances of beating the Braves in the NLDS.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Spain, perhaps unsurprisingly, won gold convincingly, beating Russia 87-63 in the final.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The country’s exports rose 83.5% from a year earlier to $120.94 billion, beating the 65.4% increase forecast by economists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
After beating Glossop North End 2-0 in 2009 in front of 12,200 supporters, Whitley Bay returned a year later to thrash Wroxham 6-1.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
They were passing through a particularly fine square, with a fountain in the form of a mermaid in the center, when there was a noise overhead, of beating wings, and the sky called Nighthand’s name.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Later it took further beatings as they worked out how the 8,000-pound horse could be dragged over dunes and log rollers by actors with ropes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has previously said his country's prisons are "clean, orderly, free from abuses, unsanitary conditions, beatings, or murders".
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2025
“People don’t have the bandwidth to respond with the kind of outrage that they would when you saw the beatings at Pan Pacific Park,” said Abdullah, referring to the LAPD’s response to protests in 2020.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2025
As one British study titled "Banter, bollockings and beatings" made clear, an often macho culture can prevail, including bizarre induction rituals.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2024
Within two, three beatings of its wings it was on its way.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
