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| beat [ beet ] |
verb (past beat, past participle beat·en [ bt'n ], present participle beat·ing, 3rd person present singular beats) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb defeat somebody in contest: to defeat somebody in a contest, race, or competition
  She was beaten in the semifinal.
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2. transitive verb hit somebody or something repeatedly: to hit somebody or something with repeated heavy blows
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3. intransitive verb knock against something repeatedly: to knock or strike against something repeatedly
waves beating against the rocks
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4. transitive verb surpass something: to surpass a previous best performance
beat the long jump record
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5. transitive and intransitive verb be better than something: to be or do better than a particular thing, activity, or quality
(
informal
)
Sitting by the pool sure beats working.
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6. transitive and intransitive verb music hit drum: to hit a drum repeatedly to produce a musical rhythm or a signal
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7. transitive verb music set musical rhythm: to show or establish a musical rhythm, e.g. with a conductor's baton or by clapping hands
beating time with her hand
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8. intransitive verb pulsate: to make natural short rhythmic movements
(
refers to the heart or pulse
)
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9. transitive verb cooking stir ingredients vigorously: to mix moist ingredients vigorously to combine them, make them smooth, or incorporate air into them
Now beat the eggs.
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10. transitive verb arrive ahead of somebody: to arrive or finish something sooner than somebody else or before a time limit
She beat me to the office.
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11. transitive verb overcome obstacles in something: to overcome the difficulties or obstacles created by something
You can't beat the system.
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12. transitive and intransitive verb birds flap wings: to move the wings up and down in flight, or be moved in this way
The vulture beat its wings.
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13. transitive verb make something by hitting: to shape or make something by pounding or trampling
beat silver into jewelry
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14. transitive and intransitive verb hunting drive game from brush: to move through or disturb bushes and undergrowth in order to frighten animals and birds for hunting
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15. intransitive verb sailing sail into wind: to sail a boat or ship as nearly as possible in the direction from which the wind is blowing
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noun (plural beats) |
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| Definition: |
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1. steady throbbing: a rhythmic sound or movement made by something throbbing or pulsating
(
often used in combination
)
could hear the beat of his heart
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2. stroke: an act of striking one thing against another, especially repeatedly and rhythmically, or the sound of one thing striking against another in this way
a drum beat
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3. music set rhythm: a single element of measured time in a musical piece or poem. Beats occur at regular intervals and are the rhythmic and metrical foundations of music.
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4. music dominant rhythm: the dominant rhythm in a piece of music, especially a strong rhythm in rock music
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5. usual route: a regular route followed or area covered while working, e.g. a police officer's route or reporter's usual subject
covering her regular beat
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6. area somebody usually goes to: the places somebody usually frequents, especially somebody's usual hunting or fishing area
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adjective |
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| Definition: |
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1. tired out: completely exhausted
(
slang
)
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2. puzzled: unable to understand or think how to proceed
(
informal
)
It has me beat.
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3. of Beat Generation: relating to or produced by members of the Beat Generation
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| [ Old English bēatan, via Germanic < Indo-European, "to strike"] |
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beat it! used to tell somebody to go away (slang)
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beat somebody to something to succeed in doing something before somebody else can do it (informal)
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beat something to death to repeat something, e.g. a story or idea, so often that people become bored with it (informal)
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it beats me used to indicate that you do not understand something (informal)
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not miss a beat to show no sign of surprise or upset
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take some beating to be so good as to be difficult to improve on
Her track record will take some beating.
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| Spelling Note |
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beat or beet? Do not confuse the spelling of beat and beet, which sound similar. The word beat can be used as a verb, meaning "defeat," "surpass," "hit repeatedly," or "pulsate" (as in beat the world record, beat a drum, his heart was beating), or as a noun, meaning "rhythm" or "usual route" (as in music with a steady beat, a police officer's beat). The word beet is only used as a noun denoting a root vegetable.
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