Beat Word Meaning

Old English bēatan, of Germanic origin

strike (a person or an animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or injure them, typically with an implement such as a club or whip

strike person repeatedly

• if we were caught we were beaten
• the victims were beaten to death with baseball bats
• they beat me with a stick and punched me

defeat (someone) in a game or other competitive situation

defeat

• she beat him easily at chess
• Juventus were beaten 2–1

succeed in getting somewhere ahead of (someone)

get somewhere before

• the defender beat him to the ball

(of the heart) pulsate

pulsate

• her heart beat faster with panic

(of a bird) move (the wings) up and down

move wings

• doves wheel around the rooftops, beating their wings

stir (cooking ingredients) vigorously to make a smooth or frothy mixture

stir cooking ingredients

• beat the butter until light and fluffy
• beat the cream into the mixture

sail into the wind, following a zigzag course with repeated tacking

sail in zigzag

• we beat southwards all that first day

a main accent or rhythmic unit in music or poetry

accent in music or poetry

• the glissando begins on the second beat

the movement of a bird's wings

movement of bird's wings

• the beat of the swallow's wings as they dive after midges

an area allocated to a police officer and patrolled on foot

area allocated to police officer

• his beat was in North London
• it's important to have cops on the beat

a brief pause or moment of hesitation

brief pause

• she waited for a beat of three seconds

beatnik

completely exhausted

exhausted

• I'm beat—I need an hour or so to rest
• I feel beat and out of ideas

relating to the beat generation or its philosophy

relating to beat generation

• beat poet Allen Ginsberg