beat

verb \ ˈbēt \

Definition of beat

beat; beaten play \ˈbē-tᵊn\ or beat; beating

transitive verb

1 :to strike repeatedly:

a :to hit repeatedly so as to inflict pain

He was arrested for beating his wife.

—often used with up

… thugs and brutes who beat up their victims without compunction …
—J. H. Plumb

b :to walk on :tread

beat the pavement looking for work

c :to strike directly against forcefully and repeatedly :dash against

waves beating the shore

beat the door with her fists

d :to flap or thrash at vigorously

a trapped bird beating the air

e hunting :to strike at in order to rouse game

beating a hedgerow

; also :to range over in or as if in quest of game

… beat the woods and rouse the bounding prey …
—Matthew Prior

f :to mix by stirring :whip

beat the eggs

—often used with up

g :to strike repeatedly in order to produce music or a signal

beat a drum

2 a :to drive or force by blows

beat back his attackers

b :to pound into a powder, paste, or pulp

c :to make by repeated treading or driving over

beat a path through the woods

d (1) :to dislodge by repeated hitting

beat dust from the carpet

(2) :to lodge securely by repeated striking

beat a stake into the ground

e :to shape by beating

beat swords into plowshares

; especially :to flatten thin by blows

f :to sound or express especially by drumbeat

beating out a rhythm on the conga

3 :to cause to strike or flap repeatedly

a bird beating its wings

4 a :overcome, defeat

beat the insurgents in a bloody battle

beating your opponent in chess

They beat us 14 to 3.

; also :surpass

She beat the old record by three seconds.

—often used with out

Someone else beat her out for the job.

b :to prevail despite

beat the odds

c :bewilder, baffle

it beats me how she does it

d (1) :fatigue, exhaust

(2) :to leave dispirited, irresolute, or hopeless

Years of failure had beaten him down.

e :cheat, swindle

beat him out of his inheritance

5 a (1) :to act ahead of usually so as to forestall

I was going to make the suggestion, but she beat me to it.

(2) journalism :to report a news item in advance of

beat the other networks

b :to come or arrive before

I beat him to the finish line.

c :circumvent

beat the system

d sports :to outmaneuver (a defender) and get free

The player attempts to beat the defender and score.

e sports :to score against (a goalkeeper)

6 :to produce (music or a signal) by striking something repeatedly :to indicate by beating

beat the tempo

intransitive verb

1 a :to become forcefully propelled forward :dash

waves beating against the shore

b :to glare or strike with oppressive intensity

The sun beat down on us.

c :to sustain distracting activity

… the turbulence of the Renaissance … beating about his head …
—Douglas Stewart

d :to strike a drum repeatedly :to beat a drum

The drummers kept beating.

2 a (1) :pulsate, throb

Her heart beat wildly.

(2) :tick

the beating of a clock

b :to sound upon being struck

the sound of a beating drum

3 a :to strike repeated blows

beating on the door

… their air attack still beating upon us …
—Sir Winston Churchill

b :to strike the air :flap

The bird's wings beat frantically.

c hunting :to strike bushes or other cover in order to rouse game; also :to range or scour for or as if for game

4 :to progress with much difficulty

5 nautical :to sail to windward by a series of zigzag movements

beating along the coast

—

beatable

play \ˈbē-tə-bəl\ adjective

— beat about the bush or beat around the bush

:to fail or refuse to come to the point in discourse

Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want.

— beat a retreat

:to leave in haste

— beat it

1 :to hurry away :scram

2 :hurry, rush

— beat one's brains out

:to try intently to resolve something difficult by thinking

I beat my brains out trying to figure it out.

— beat the bushes

:to search thoroughly through all possible areas

— beat the drum

:to proclaim as meritorious or significant :publicize vigorously

beating the drum for their candidate

— beat the pants off

:to defeat or surpass overwhelmingly

We vowed to beat the pants off them next time.

— beat the rap

:to escape or evade the penalties connected with an accusation or charge

— beat up on

:to attack physically or verbally

She was getting beat up on by her critics.

— to beat the band

:in a very energetic or forceful manner

talking away to beat the band

See beat defined for English-language learners

See beat defined for kids

Examples of beat in a Sentence

He beat the dust out of the rug with a stick.
She used a hammer to beat the metal into shape.
She used a hammer to beat the nail into the wall.
The dented metal was beaten flat.
The waves were beating the shore.
He beat at the door with his fists.
The waves were beating on the shore.
The rain beat on the roof.
They beat him with clubs.
a man accused of beating his wife

Recent Examples of beat from the Web

Most recently, reporter Volodymyr Volovodyuk, who had investigated black-market trading in the central Vinnytsia region, was beaten to death June 12.

— dmytro vlasov, The Seattle Times, "Year after reporter killed in Ukraine, no progress in probe," 20 July 2017
The Sun are one of the league's best teams, with one of its most exciting young cores, and beating the Stars was something most everyone expected them to do.

— john altavilla, courant.com, "Sun Warm To The Task, Pull Away From Stars In Second Half," 16 July 2017
Saturday's attendance beat out Louisville City's previous season-high of 9,074 fans reached against Tampa Bay in April.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville City FC crowd sets attendance record against FC Cincinnati," 15 July 2017
Freed was able to spring to her feet and just beat the runner to third for the final out of the game.

— jeff tully, Burbank Leader, "Burbank Junior softball claims division championship," 13 July 2017
Mr Putin was defiant over the outcome of the Magnitsky case, in which a lawyer who was beaten to death in prison was posthumously charged with tax fraud.

— The Economist, "Donald Trump junior’s e-mails," 13 July 2017
There are special awards to male and female runners who beat the farmer.

— johnny gorches, Post-Tribune, "Running notes: Valparaiso's Leeann Wright adds another win to resume," 12 July 2017
The C-17 is probably the largest military airplane to have gone through the loop: the Airbus A400M Atlas transport beat it by six months, but the C-17 is nearly thirty feet longer.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Giant C-17 Airlifter Does Low Level at the Mach Loop," 11 July 2017
NPR reported that at least 10 people participated in beating Bakari in a brawl outside the Greece bar, and now eight of them have been arrested and two charged with murder.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "American College Graduate Reportedly Beaten to Death in Greece," 11 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of beat

Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan; akin to Old High German bōzan to beat

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

beat Synonyms

Synonyms

bash, baste, bat, batter, belabor, belt, birch, bludgeon, buffet, bung up, club, curry, do, drub, fib [British], flog, hammer, hide, lace, lambaste (or lambast), lash, lather, lick, maul, mess (up), paddle, pelt, pommel, pound, pummel, punch out, rough (up), slate, slog, switch, tan, thrash, thresh, thump, tromp, wallop, whale, whip, whop (or whap), whup, work over, beat up on, get the better of, knock for a loop

Antonyms

lose (to)

Related Words

assail, assault, attack, beset, box, bust, chop, clobber, clout, crack, cudgel, cuff, descend (on or upon), hit, jump (on), knock, lam, lay on, paste, pounce (on or upon), punch, raid, rush, slam, slap, smack, smash, sock, spank, storm, swat, swipe, thwack, whack, wham, whomp; blackjack, cane, cowhide, flagellate, fustigate, horsewhip, leather, pistol-whip, rawhide, scourge, strap; gore, lacerate, wound; maim, mangle, mutilate

Near Antonyms

fall, give up, go down, go under; collapse, fail, flop, flunk, fold, wash out

beat

noun

Definition of beat

1 a :a single stroke or blow especially in a series

a single beat on a drum

; also :pulsation, tick

b :a sound produced by or as if by beating (see ¹beat)

dance to the beat of the drums

listening to the beat of his heart

c :a driving impact or force

… the full force of the surf beat …
—Joyce Allan

… the fierce beat of the eastern sun.
—T. B. Costain

2 :one swing of the pendulum or balance (see ¹balance 4) of a timepiece

3 a :a regularly traversed round (see ³round 6a)

a cop patrolling her beat

b journalism :a group of news sources that a reporter covers regularly

a reporter on the beat

4 a :a metrical or rhythmic stress in poetry or music or the rhythmic effect of these stresses

four beats per bar

keeping a steady beat

b music :the tempo indicated (as by a conductor) to a musical performer

c music :the pronounced rhythm (see rhythm 2b) that is the characteristic driving force in some types of music (such as jazz or rock)

music with a Latin beat

; also :²rock 2

5 a :one that excels

I've never seen the beat of it

b journalism :the reporting of a news story ahead of competitors

6 :deadbeat

7 nautical

a :an act of sailing toward the side or direction from which the wind is blowing by a series of zigzag movements :an act of beating (see ¹beat intransitive 5) to windward

b :one of the reaches (see ²reach 1) in the zigzag course so traversed :tack

8 physics :each of the pulsations of amplitude (see amplitude 1a) produced by the union of sound or radio waves or electric currents having different frequencies

9 dance :an accented stroke (as of one leg or foot against the other)

10 :moment

waited a beat before responding

—

beatless

play \-ləs\ adjective

— miss a beat

chiefly US :to have difficulty in continuing :to stop or hesitate briefly —often used in negative constructions

A few minutes later, the power cuts out …, but Achmed doesn't miss a beat; clearly, he's used to this.
—Eric Weiner

Recent Examples of beat from the Web

Much like music created by human drummers, the cockatoos’ beats remain consistent over time and are individually recognizable.

— andrew wagner, Science | AAAS, "Watch this cockatoo make music with a stick," 28 June 2017
Lounge mode offers an LCD-like screen on the ceiling that can show images while music plays on a multispeaker audio system and LED lights on the floor pulsate and flash to the beat.

— chester dawson, WSJ, "Your Next Car May Be a Living Room on Wheels," 19 June 2017
Photo transitions happen on the beat, to give it a bit more pop.

— mark hachman, PCWorld, "Hands on with Microsoft's Story Remix, the new tool to make your photos pop," 15 May 2017
Hawks beat Huskies North Harford (4-13) beat visiting Patterson Mill, 16-6, Thursday in non-division play.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "Aberdeen ends softball regular season on 12-game win streak," 8 May 2017
Rainbow flags decorated the chapel, while the pastors, who had flown in from Brazil, Canada and the United States, wore stoles in the trans hues of light blue, pink and white and the congregation swayed to Caribbean beats.

— NBC News, "Communist-Ruled Cuba Hosts First Transgender Religious Ceremony," 7 May 2017
Beat eggs with a fork, then stir all ingredients to combine (the mixture will be thick, like a wet ball of sand—don't worry).

— Redbook, "One Banana Bread, 3 Ingenious Twists," 6 Apr. 2017
Beat in ½ cup sugar gradually, beating until peaks become more stiff.

— michelle stark, Tampa Bay Times, "Five ideas for almonds: Almond cake, almond-herb sauce, almond-crusted fish," 21 Feb. 2017

Origin and Etymology of beat

noun derivative of ¹beat

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1625

See Words from the same year

beat

adjective

Definition of beat

1 a :being in a state of exhaustion :exhausted

Sometimes I'd be so beat that I'd flop down and go to sleep fully dressed.
—Polly Adler

b :sapped of resolution or morale

2 often capitalized

[earliest in beat generation; perhaps in part by association with ²beat in sense "pronounced rhythm" or -beat in ¹deadbeat]

:of, relating to, or being beatniks

beat poets

See beat defined for English-language learners

Examples of beat in a Sentence

Let me sit down. I'm absolutely beat!
can we pick this up tomorrow, because I'm beat?

Origin and Etymology of beat

from past participle of ¹beat

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1800

See Words from the same year

beat Synonyms

Synonyms

all in, aweary [archaic], weary, beaten, bleary, burned-out (or burnt-out), bushed, dead, done, done in, drained, exhausted, fatigued, jaded, knackered [British], limp, logy (also loggy), played out, pooped [slang], prostrate, spent, tapped out, tired, tuckered (out), washed-out, wearied, wiped out, worn, worn-out

Antonyms

unwearied

Related Words

overfatigued, overtaxed, overworked; broken-down, run-down; debilitated, enervate, enervated, enfeebled, sapped, weakened; drowsy, heavy, sleepy; lethargic, sluggish

Near Antonyms

fresh, refreshed, rejuvenated, relaxed, rested, revitalized; active, energetic, invigorated, peppy, strengthened, strong, tireless, vitalized, weariless

beat

noun, often capitalized

Definition of beat

:beatnik

Recent Examples of beat from the Web

Much like music created by human drummers, the cockatoos’ beats remain consistent over time and are individually recognizable.

— andrew wagner, Science | AAAS, "Watch this cockatoo make music with a stick," 28 June 2017
Lounge mode offers an LCD-like screen on the ceiling that can show images while music plays on a multispeaker audio system and LED lights on the floor pulsate and flash to the beat.

— chester dawson, WSJ, "Your Next Car May Be a Living Room on Wheels," 19 June 2017
Photo transitions happen on the beat, to give it a bit more pop.

— mark hachman, PCWorld, "Hands on with Microsoft's Story Remix, the new tool to make your photos pop," 15 May 2017
Hawks beat Huskies North Harford (4-13) beat visiting Patterson Mill, 16-6, Thursday in non-division play.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "Aberdeen ends softball regular season on 12-game win streak," 8 May 2017
Rainbow flags decorated the chapel, while the pastors, who had flown in from Brazil, Canada and the United States, wore stoles in the trans hues of light blue, pink and white and the congregation swayed to Caribbean beats.

— NBC News, "Communist-Ruled Cuba Hosts First Transgender Religious Ceremony," 7 May 2017
Beat eggs with a fork, then stir all ingredients to combine (the mixture will be thick, like a wet ball of sand—don't worry).

— Redbook, "One Banana Bread, 3 Ingenious Twists," 6 Apr. 2017
Beat in ½ cup sugar gradually, beating until peaks become more stiff.

— michelle stark, Tampa Bay Times, "Five ideas for almonds: Almond cake, almond-herb sauce, almond-crusted fish," 21 Feb. 2017

Origin and Etymology of beat

from ³beat in beat generation, or by shortening of beatnik

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1957

See Words from the same year

BEAT Defined for English Language Learners

beat

verb

Definition of beat for English Language Learners

: to hit (something) repeatedly
: to hit (someone) repeatedly in order to cause pain or injury
: to hit (a drum) repeatedly in order to produce music or a signal

beat

adjective

Definition of beat for English Language Learners

: very tired

BEAT Defined for Kids

beat

verb \ ˈbēt \

Definition of beat for Students

beat; beaten \ˈbē-tᵊn\ or beat; beating

1 :to hit or strike again and again

beat a drum

waves beating the shore

2 :to hit repeatedly in order to cause pain or injury

They beat him with sticks.

—often used with up

Little Dusty froze as the older boys quarreled. He knew Johnny could beat up Dove any time he chose.
—Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain

3 :to mix by stirring rapidly

beat eggs

4 :to win against :defeat

beat the enemy

5 :to come, arrive, or act before

I beat him to the finish line.

6 :¹throb 3, pulsate

Her heart was still beating.

7 :to flap against

wings beating the air

8 :to move with an up and down motion :flap

The bird beat its wings.

9 :to do or be better than

You can't beat that for fun.

10 :to be beyond the understanding of

It beats me how she does it.

11 :to make by walking or riding over

beat a path

—

beater

noun

— beat it

:to go away quickly

beat

noun

Definition of beat for Students

1 :a blow or a stroke made again and again

2 :a single pulse (as of the heart)

3 :a sound produced by or as if by beating

the beat of drums

the beat of waves against the rock

4 :a measurement of time in music :an accent or regular pattern of accents in music or poetry

5 :an area or place regularly visited or traveled through as part of a job

a police officer's beat

beat

adjective

Definition of beat for Students

:very tired

Medical Dictionary

beat

intransitive verb \ ˈbēt \

medical Definition of beat

beat; beaten play \ˈbēt-ᵊn\ or beat; beating

:pulsate, throb

beat

noun

medical Definition of beat

:a single stroke or pulsation (as of the heart)

ectopic beats

— see extrasystole

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beat

Definition of beat

beatable

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Origin and Etymology of beat

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Synonyms

Antonyms

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Near Antonyms

beat

Definition of beat

beatless

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Origin and Etymology of beat

beat

Definition of beat

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Origin and Etymology of beat

beat Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Near Antonyms

beat

Definition of beat

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Origin and Etymology of beat

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beat

Definition of beat for English Language Learners

beat

Definition of beat for English Language Learners

BEAT Defined for Kids

beat

Definition of beat for Students

beater

beat

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beat

Definition of beat for Students

Medical Dictionary

beat

medical Definition of beat

beat

medical Definition of beat

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