verbWord forms: beats, beating, beat, beaten or beat1. (when intr, often foll by against, on, etc) to strike with or as if with a series of violent blows; dash or pound repeatedly (against)
2. (transitive) to punish by striking; flog
3. to move or cause to move up and down; flap
the bird beat its wings heavily
4. (intransitive) to throb rhythmically; pulsate
her heart beat fast
5. (transitive) to make (one's way) by or as if by blows
she beat her way out of the crowd
6. (transitive; sometimes foll by up) cookery to stir or whisk (an ingredient or mixture) vigorously
7. (transitive; sometimes foll by out) to shape, make thin, or flatten (a piece of metal) by repeated blows
8. (transitive) music to indicate (time) by the motion of one's hand, baton, etc, or by the action of a metronome
9. (when tr, sometimes foll by out) to produce (a sound or signal) by or as if by striking a drum
10. to sound or cause to sound, by or as if by beating
beat the drums!
11. to overcome (an opponent) in a contest, battle, etc
12. (tr; often foll by back, down, off etc) to drive, push, or thrust
13. (transitive) to arrive or finish before (someone or something); anticipate or forestall
they set off early to beat the rush hour
14. (transitive) to form (a path or track) by repeatedly walking or riding over it
15. to scour (woodlands, coverts, or undergrowth) so as to rouse game for shooting
16. (transitive) slang to puzzle or baffle
it beats me how he can do that
17. (intransitive) physics (of sounds or electrical signals) to combine and produce a pulsating sound or signal
18. (intransitive) nautical to steer a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
19. (transitive) slang, mainly US to cheat or defraud
he beat his brother out of the inheritance
20. beat about the bush
21. beat a retreat
22. beat it
23. beat one's breast
24. beat someone's brains out
25. beat someone to it
26. beat the bounds
27. can you beat it?
noun29. the sound made by a stroke or blow
30. a regular sound or stroke; throb
31. a. an assigned or habitual round or route, as of a police officer or sentry
b. (as modifier)
beat police officers
32. the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music, usually grouped in twos, threes, or fours
33. a. pop or rock music characterized by a heavy rhythmic beat
b. (as modifier)
a beat group
34. physics the low regular frequency produced by combining two sounds or electrical signals that have similar frequencies
35. horology the impulse given to the balance wheel by the action of the escapement
36. prosody the accent, stress, or ictus in a metrical foot
37. nautical a course that steers a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from whichthe wind is blowing
38. a. the act of scouring for game by beating
b. the organized scouring of a particular woodland so as to rouse the game in it
c. the woodland where game is so roused
39. short for beatnik
40. fencing a sharp tap with one's blade on an opponent's blade to deflect it
41. (modifier, often capital) of, characterized by, or relating to the Beat Generation
a beat poet
beat philosophy