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beat time

Idioms

Mark musical time by beating a drum, clapping, tapping the foot, or a similar means. For example, Even as a baby, Dave always beat time when he heard music. [Late 1600s]

Example Sentences

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beat time

A man in a wheelchair wearing a pale-gray blazer beat time to the music with his eyes closed, a look of intense joy on his face.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 1, 2018

“Perhaps not,” Alice cautiously replied: “but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.”

From Washington Post ● Jan. 7, 2016

The crowd gave it to him, while Winston Churchill beat time.

From Time Magazine Archive

And in the middle of it the little man raised his hands and beat time, and grinned at the audience, and said something.

From Time Magazine Archive

The steady rhythm of his arms beat time with his thoughts.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023