beat

1 of 4

verb

ˈbēt

beat; beaten ˈbē-tᵊn

or beat; beating; beats

Synonyms of beat next

transitive verb

: to strike repeatedly:

: to hit repeatedly so as to inflict pain

Inmates were put in solitary for beating other inmates.

—often used with up

… brutes who beat up their victims without compunction …—

J. H. Plumb

: to walk on : tread

beat the pavement looking for work

: to strike directly against forcefully and repeatedly : dash against

waves beating the shore

beat the door with her fists

: to flap or thrash at vigorously

a trapped bird beating the air

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

: to mix by stirring : whip

beat the eggs

—often used with up

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

beat a drum

: to drive or force by blows

beat back his attackers

: to pound into a powder, paste, or pulp

: 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

: to shape by beating

beat swords into plowshares

especially : to flatten thin by blows

: to sound or express especially by drumbeat

beating out a rhythm on the conga

: to cause to strike or flap repeatedly

a bird beating its wings

: 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.

: to prevail despite

beat the odds

: 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.

: cheat, swindle

beat him out of his inheritance

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

: to come or arrive before

I beat him to the finish line.

: circumvent

beat the system

sports : to outmaneuver (a defender) and get free

The player attempts to beat the defender and score.

sports : to score against (a goalkeeper)

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

beat the tempo

intransitive verb

: to become forcefully propelled forward : dash

waves beating against the shore

: to glare or strike with oppressive intensity

The sun beat down on us.

: to sustain distracting activity

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

Douglas Stewart

: to strike a drum repeatedly : to beat a drum

The drummers kept beating.

a(1)

: pulsate, throb

Her heart beat wildly.

(2)

: tick

the beating of a clock

: to sound upon being struck

the sound of a beating drum

: to strike repeated blows

beating on the door

… their air attack still beating upon us …—

Sir Winston Churchill

: to strike the air : flap

The bird's wings beat frantically.

hunting : to strike bushes or other cover in order to rouse game

also : to range or scour for or as if for game

: to progress with much difficulty

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

beating along the coast

beatable

ˈbē-tə-bəl

adjective

beat

2 of 4

noun (1)

: a single stroke or blow especially in a series

a single beat on a drum

also : pulsation, tick

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

dance to the beat of the drums

listening to the beat of his heart

: a driving impact or force

… the full force of the surf beat …—

Joyce Allan

… the fierce beat of the eastern sun.—

T. B. Costain

: one swing of the pendulum or balance (see balance entry 1 sense 9) of a timepiece

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

a cop patrolling her beat

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

a reporter on the beat

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

four beats per bar

keeping a steady beat

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

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

music with a Latin beat

also : rock entry 2 sense 2

: one that excels

I've never seen the beat of it

journalism : the reporting of a news story ahead of competitors

: deadbeat

nautical

: 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 beat entry 1 sense intransitive 5) to windward

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

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

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

: moment

waited a beat before responding

beatless

ˈbēt-ləs

adjective

beat

3 of 4

adjective

: 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

: sapped of resolution or morale

often capitalized [earliest in beat generation; perhaps in part by association with beat entry 2 in sense "pronounced rhythm" or -beat in deadbeat entry 1] : of, relating to, or being beatniks

beat poets

beat

4 of 4

noun (2)

often capitalized

: beatnik

Phrases

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

: to hurry away : scram

: 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

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

Example Sentences

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

After Noblesville's Cooper Bean made a corner 3-pointer to bring the Millers within one possession, the Generals ran down the clock and Comer beat the buzzer with a deep 3-pointer to give Wayne a 33-27 lead at halftime. —

Thomas Butler-guerrero, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Mar. 2023 The next day, Cuba lost to Italy in the U.S. morning and then beat Panama with a game broadcast that evening. —

Benjamin Hoffman, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2023 The Barons beat Clovis (46-45) and Birmingham (6-49). —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2023 Kelsey Barnard Clark One of the first Southern chefs to shine on Top Chef, Kelsey Barnard Clark beat Sara Bradley in the latter's native Kentucky with her consistent cooking. —

Kate Hogan, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2023 Miami: The Hurricanes can beat a team in so many ways and proved that against Wake Forest. —

Bill Shaikin, Sun Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2023 Larkin tried to beat Stalock with a low shot, but Stalock made a pad save. —

Dana Gauruder, Chicago Tribune, 8 Mar. 2023 Kurt Kitayama let an All-Star cast of contenders back into the tournament with a triple bogey, only to beat them all with a clutch birdie and the best lag putt of his life to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday. —

Dallas News, 5 Mar. 2023 Sixth man Terrence Edwards, who nearly single-handedly beat Troy with 27 points in Saturday’s quarterfinal round, was limited to only 13 in 28 minutes. —

Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 5 Mar. 2023

Noun

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. —

Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 28 Feb. 2023 The camera crew didn’t miss a beat, quickly cutting to Bassett — who laughed and blew a kiss from the audience while DeBose did a little shimmy onstage. —

Christi Carrasstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2023 With a mic in one hand and the personalized jacket in the other, Carrie flawlessly put on the jacket without missing a beat. —

Chaise Sanders, Country Living, 26 Feb. 2023 Bloys personally recruited Dave Mandel, and the show didn’t miss a beat. —

Michael Schneider, Variety, 22 Feb. 2023 Susan is a longtime journalist in DFW who previously worked as a city government/crime beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a breaking news reporter for United Press International. —

Dallas News, 16 Feb. 2023 His timing was unique, funky and ALWAYS behind the beat. —

Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 20 Dec. 2022 Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase will miss Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans due to a hip injury, according to beat reporter Kelsey Conway. —

Enquirer Sports, The Enquirer, 27 Nov. 2022 Betting line: Raptors by 9½. Follow all year: Indulge in Pistons coverage all season long here, led by our beat reporter Omari Sankofa II providing insight on the ground, along with our columnists. —

Tyler J. Davis, Detroit Free Press, 14 Nov. 2022

Adjective

Arradondo, a South Minneapolis native, began his career in 1989 as a beat officer on the city’s predominantly Black north side, joining the department at a time when there were few Black officers in the ranks. —

Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2021 The key to making real money is licensing a beat multiple times. —

Lily Moayeri, Variety, 2 Dec. 2022 Reporting knowledge of specific game strategy is a no-no for a beat reporter. —

oregonlive, 14 Oct. 2022 He’s handled that well, leaning on those ex-beat reporter’s instincts to quickly identify angles and story lines. —

Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 2 July 2022 The reason these heart-music mappings work is because abnormal heart rhythms tend to form simple inter-beat-interval ratios. —

Grace Leslie, Scientific American, 18 Sep. 2021 The same way that a shoe ties an outfit together or a good headband can tie a wig together, a lip color can have just the same impact on a beat face. —

Essence, 28 July 2021 That information, known as inter-beat intervals, could help doctors gauge how well your heart is functioning. —

Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2021 See More

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.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

Noun (1)

noun derivative of beat entry 1

Adjective

from past participle of beat entry 1

Noun (2)

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

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

circa 1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1800, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1957, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of beat was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing beat

Cite this Entry

Style

“Beat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

beat

1 of 3 verb

ˈbēt

beat; beaten ˈbēt-ᵊn

or beat; beating

: to hit again and again

beat a drum

rain beating on the roof

—often used with up

two bullies beat him up

: to flap against

wings beating the air

: to mix by stirring : whip

beat two eggs

: to drive or force by blows

beat off the intruder

: to make by walking or riding over

beat a path

: to shape by blows

beat gold into thin strips

: to cause to strike or flap repeatedly

birds beating their wings

: to win against : defeat

: baffle entry 1 sense 1

it beats me where they are

: surpass sense 1

can you beat that?

: to act ahead of

beat me to the punch

: to arrive before

beat us home

: to measure or mark off by strokes

beat time to the music

: to glare or strike harshly

the sun beats down

: pulsate, throb

the heart beating

beater noun

beat

2 of 3 noun

: a stroke or blow especially in a series

: pulsation

: a sound produced by or as if by beating

the beat of waves against the rock

: a rhythmic stress in poetry or music

: the tempo given to a musical performer

: rhythm sense 2

likes music with a Latin beat

: a place or area regularly visited in the course of work or duty

a police officer's beat

a reporter's beat

beat

3 of 3 adjective

: being tired out

: having lost one's morale

Medical Definition

beat

1 of 2 intransitive verb

ˈbēt

beat; beaten ˈbēt-ᵊn

or beat; beating

: pulsate, throb

beat

2 of 2 noun

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

ectopic beats

see extrasystole

Last Updated: 15 Mar 2023 - Updated example sentences

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PLAY

beat

verb

noun (1)

adjective

noun (2)

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near beat

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition