beat (bēt)

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[Middle English beten, from Old English bēaten.]

verb: beat, beat·en (bēt́n) or beat, beat·ing, beats. 

transitive verb 

1. 1. To strike repeatedly.
   2. To subject to repeated beatings or physical abuse; batter.
   3. To punish by hitting or whipping; flog.
2. 1. To strike against repeatedly and with force; pound: waves beating the shore.
   2. To flap, especially wings.
   3. To strike so as to produce music or a signal: beat a drum.
   4. Music To mark or count (time or rhythm), especially with the hands or with a baton.
3. 1. To shape or break by repeated blows; forge: beat the glowing metal into a dagger.
   2. To make by pounding or trampling: beat a path through the jungle.
4. To mix rapidly with a utensil: beat two eggs in a bowl.
5. 1. To defeat or subdue, as in a contest.
   2. To force to withdraw or retreat: beat back the enemy.
   3. To dislodge from a position: I beat him down to a lower price.
6. Informal To be superior to or better than: Riding beats walking.
7. Slang To perplex or baffle: It beats me; I don't know the answer.
8. Informal
   1. To avoid or counter the effects of, often by thinking ahead; circumvent: beat the traffic.
   2. To arrive or finish before (another): We beat you home by five minutes.
   3. To deprive, as by craft or ability: He beat me out of 20 dollars with his latest scheme.
9. Physics To cause a reference wave to combine with (a second wave) so that the frequency of the second wave can be studied through time variations in the amplitude of the combination.

intransitive verb 

1. To inflict repeated blows.
2. To pulsate; throb.
3. 1. To emit sound when struck: The gong beat thunderously.
   2. To strike a drum.
4. To flap repeatedly.
5. To shine or glare intensely: The sun beat down on us all day.
6. To fall in torrents: The rain beat on the roof.
7. To hunt through woods or underbrush in search of game.
8. Nautical To sail in the direction from which the wind blows.

noun 

1. A stroke or blow, especially one that produces a sound or serves as a signal.
2. A pulsation or throb.
3. Physics A variation in amplitude that results from the superpositioning of two or more waves of different frequencies. When sound waves are combined, the variation is heard as a pulsation in the sound.
4. Music
   1. A steady succession of units of rhythm.
   2. A gesture used by a conductor to indicate such a unit.
5. A pattern of stress that produces the rhythm of verse.
6. A variable unit of time measuring a pause taken by an actor, as for dramatic effect.
7. 1. The area regularly covered by a reporter, a police officer, or a sentry: television's culture beat.
   2. The reporting of a news item obtained ahead of one's competitors.
8. A member of the Beat Generation.

adjective 

1. Informal Worn-out; fatigued.
2. Of or relating to the Beat Generation.

phrasal verbs

beat off

To drive away.

Vulgar Slang To masturbate.

beat out

Baseball To reach base safely on (a bunt or ground ball) when a putout is attempted.

idioms

beat all

To be impressive or amazing. Often used in negative conditional constructions: If that doesn't beat all!

beat a retreat

To make a hasty withdrawal.

beat around the bush

To fail to confront a subject directly.

beat it

To leave hurriedly.

beat the bushes

To make an exhaustive search.

beat the drum

To give enthusiastic public support or promotion: a politician who beats the drum for liberalism.

beat up on

To attack physically. To criticize or scold harshly.

to beat the band

To an extreme degree.

synonyms:

beat, baste³batter¹belabor, buffet²hammer, lambaste, pound²pummel, thrash These verbs mean to hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows: was mugged and beaten; basted him with a stick; was battered in the boxing ring; rioting students belabored by police officers; buffeted him with her open palm; hammered the opponent with his fists; lambasted every challenger; troops pounded with mortar fire; pummeled the bully soundly; thrashed the thief for stealing the candy.

See also: defeat