as in turning back
to drive back
the defense managed to beat off those offensive players who were taking shots at the goalie
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Recent Examples of beating off
The dogs had driven the woman into the surf before a tourist came to her rescue, beating off the dingoes.
—
CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beating off
Verb
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Once your pair crunchy snap peas with peppery arugula, a sweet and zippy homemade dressing, and garlicky toasted breadcrumbs, there is no turning back.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
4 Mar. 2026
-
So, crude oil imported to California from the Gulf Coast states must first sail east to the Bahamas before turning back west to California.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To fill the space, models are turning away from doomscrolling (there’s enough doom and gloom in the news right now) and toward novels.—
Arden Fanning Andrews,
Vogue,
6 Mar. 2026
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The United Kingdom has started strictly enforcing its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), turning away travelers without the digital form.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There are many options for repelling mice.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
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Not long afterwards, the Spaniard goes down clutching his left shoulder after repelling a shot from Rutter and requires treatment.—
Stuart James,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While there are dismemberments and other bits of gruesome violence to be found in the film, Badlands is largely aimed at endearing its audience rather than repulsing them.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The man pleaded no contest to felony counts of stalking and vandalism and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest in 2019.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
9 Mar. 2026
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The men were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon, resisting a peace officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and other charges.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To his credit, Onana remained at the heart of the battle and was evidently key to Villa staving off Bournemouth’s set-play threat.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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Gibney illustrates that state of waiting, of staving off what at that time appears to be the inevitable, with the famous sequence from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, in which Max von Sydow’s medieval knight plays chess with Death on a desolate beach.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beating off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beating%20off. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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