Definition of beat
beat
;beaten
play \ˈbē-tən\ orbeat
;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. Plumbb : to walk on : tread beat the pavement looking for workc : to strike directly against forcefully and repeatedly : dash against waves beating the shore beat the door with her fistsd : to flap or thrash at vigorously a trapped bird beating the aire 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 Priorf : to mix by stirring : whip beat the eggs —often used with upg : to strike repeatedly in order to produce music or a signal beat a drum
2a : to drive or force by blows beat back his attackersb : to pound into a powder, paste, or pulpc : to make by repeated treading or driving over beat a path through the woodsd (1) : to dislodge by repeated hitting beat dust from the carpet (2) : to lodge securely by repeated striking beat a stake into the grounde : to shape by beating beat swords into plowshares; especially : to flatten thin by blowsf : 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
4a : 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 oddsc : bewilder, baffle it beats me how she does itd (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
5a (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 networksb : to come or arrive before I beat him to the finish line.c : circumvent beat the systemd 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
1a : to become forcefully propelled forward : dash waves beating against the shoreb : 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 Stewartd : to strike a drum repeatedly : to beat a drum The drummers kept beating.
2a (1) : pulsate, throb Her heart beat wildly. (2) : tick the beating of a clockb : to sound upon being struck the sound of a beating drum
beat about the bush
orbeat around the bush
beat a retreat
beat it
beat one's brains out
beat the bushes
beat the drum
beat the pants off
beat the rap
beat up on
to beat the band
From the M-W Editors
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.
-
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.
-
Saturday's attendance beat out Louisville City's previous season-high of 9,074 fans reached against Tampa Bay in April.
-
Freed was able to spring to her feet and just beat the runner to third for the final out of the game.
-
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.
-
There are special awards to male and female runners who beat the farmer.
-
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.
-
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.
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
beat
Definition of beat
1a : a single stroke or blow especially in a series a single beat on a drum; also : pulsation, tickb : a sound produced by or as if by beating (see 1beat) dance to the beat of the drums listening to the beat of his heartc : 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
3a : a regularly traversed round (see 3round 6a) a cop patrolling her beatb journalism : a group of news sources that a reporter covers regularly a reporter on the beat
4a : a metrical or rhythmic stress in poetry or music or the rhythmic effect of these stresses four beats per bar keeping a steady beatb music : the tempo indicated (as by a conductor) to a musical performerc 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
5a : one that excels I've never seen the beat of itb 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 windwardb : 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
miss a beat
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.
-
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.
-
Photo transitions happen on the beat, to give it a bit more pop.
-
Hawks beat Huskies North Harford (4-13) beat visiting Patterson Mill, 16-6, Thursday in non-division play.
-
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.
-
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).
-
Beat in ½ cup sugar gradually, beating until peaks become more stiff.
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
noun derivative of 1beat
beat
Definition of beat
1a : 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 Adlerb : 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
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
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.
-
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.
-
Photo transitions happen on the beat, to give it a bit more pop.
-
Hawks beat Huskies North Harford (4-13) beat visiting Patterson Mill, 16-6, Thursday in non-division play.
-
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.
-
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).
-
Beat in ½ cup sugar gradually, beating until peaks become more stiff.
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.
BEAT Defined for English Language Learners
beat
playDefinition 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
Definition of beat for English Language Learners
-
: very tired
BEAT Defined for Kids
Definition of beat for Students
beat
;beaten
\ˈbē-tən\ orbeat
;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.
7 : to flap against wings beating the air
8 : to move with an up and down motion : flap The bird beat its wings.
beater
nounbeat it
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
Medical Dictionary
beat
Medical Definition of beat
: a single stroke or pulsation (as of the heart) ectopic beats—see extrasystole
Learn More about beat
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for beat Spanish Central: Translation of beat Nglish: Translation of beat for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of beat for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about beat
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up beat? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!