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:
The company reported second-quarter sales of 9.33 billion euros, beating analyst forecasts of 8.83 billion euros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
We had come so close to beating them, but we fell on the wrong side of a penalty shootout, and we were going home.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Earnings per share in the second quarter rose 26.5% compared to the same period last year to €7.59, beating Wall Street consensus of €6.80, according to LSEG.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
In the second quarter, the group's net profit came in at 4.1 billion euros, beating forecasts of around 2.4 billion euros.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
It was all she could hear, her heart and her breathing, and for a wild instant she thought she might be able to match it, like her heart, too, might start beating.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
His mission was to reshape an England team scarred by years of Ashes beatings.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 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
Against Oregon — which ranks 11th in the same category — Johnson totaled 252 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry and three touchdowns across two separate beatings.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
Borrell said Vucic presented him with a report alleging beatings of Serbs arrested during and after the protests and said that an EU judicial mission in Kosovo would investigate.
From Reuters ● Jun. 22, 2023
“If Gurgi had not gone seeking help, he would not be here to serve you now. But he is here! Yes, yes, faithful Gurgi returns to beatings and bruisings from the terrifying warrior!”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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.
