Meaning of beat In English

• 0 to defeat or do better than:

  • Simon always beats me at tennis.

  • Holland beat Belgium (by) 3–1.

  • The Miami Heat beat the Pacers 95-90/by five points.

  • Our team was comfortably/easily/soundly beaten in the first round of the competition.

  • The Nationalists were narrowly beaten in the election.

  • He beat me fair and square (= without cheating).

  • They were beaten hands down (= completely) by their opponents.

  • She has beaten her own record of three minutes ten seconds.

  • [ + -ing verb ] Taking the bus sure beats walking.

  • slang Taking the bus beats the hell out of (= is much better than) walking all the way there.

  • You can't beat (= there is nothing more enjoyable than) a cold beer on a hot afternoon.

  • Let's try to beat the traffic by leaving early in the morning.

  • I always do my shopping early to beat the rush.

  • I was just going to clean the kitchen, but you beat me to it.

• 1 to hit repeatedly:

  • They saw him beating his dog with a stick.

  • The child had been brutally/savagely beaten.

  • She was beaten to death.

  • [ + obj + adj ] He was beaten senseless.

  • Beat the drum.

  • The rain was beating down incessantly on the tin roof.

  • We beat a path through the undergrowth.

• 2 to mix something repeatedly using a utensil such as a spoon or whisk:

  • To make an omelette you first beat the eggs.

• 3 to (cause to) make a regular movement or sound:

  • The doctor could feel no pulse beating.

  • Her heart started to beat faster.

  • The hummingbird beats its wings at great speed.

• 4 extremely tired:

  • I'm beat - I'm going to bed.

  • You've been working too hard—you look dead beat.

• 5 a regular movement or sound, especially that made by your heart:

  • I put my head on his chest but I could feel no heartbeat.

  • My heart skipped a beat (= I felt very excited) when she said, "Yes, I'll marry you."

• 6 in music, a regular emphasis, or a place in the music where such an emphasis is expected:

  • The guitar comes in on the third beat.

  • Make sure you play on the beat.

  • He tapped his foot to the beat (= rhythm) of the music.

• 7 an area for which someone, such as a police officer, has responsibility as part of their job:

  • Bob has worked as an officer on this particular beat for 20 years.

• 8 an important moment, event, or subject in a story, film, etc.:

  • The moment is gruesome, but it’s also an important beat in the story.

  • The director effortlessly handles the plot twists and emotional beats.

• 9 to defeat a competitor, or to do or be better than someone or something:

  • In football, the Giants beat the 49ers, 17-3.

  • Most people think that the governor will beat his opponent.

  • The room wasn’t much, but it beat driving to a hotel 20 miles away.

  • I leave work early to beat the traffic.

• 10 to hit repeatedly:

  • [ T ] He looked as if he’d been beaten.

  • [ I ] The children were beating on the table.

• 11 to mix food with a fast circular motion:

  • [ M ] Beat in the egg yolks.

• 12 to make a rhythmic sound or movement, or to hit something in rhythm to make such a sound:

  • [ I ] I was so nervous I could feel my heart beating.

  • [ T ] He steadily beat the drum.

  • [ I ] Without calcium, your heart could not beat correctly.

• 13 an area for which someone, esp. a police officer, has responsibility as part of the job:

  • People are comforted to see cops on the beat.

• 14 the rhythmic sound in music that repeats regularly:

  • We clapped in time to the beat.

• 15 extremely tired:

  • I’m beat – I’m going to bed.

• 16 to do better than someone or something:

  • Yesterday's close beat the record set Feb. 1.

  • With their lowest price guarantee, they will beat the price of a competitor's product by 10%.

  • beat estimates/expectations/forecasts Declines in shares of the world's biggest chip maker halted when the company beat expectations for profits.

  • They are selling the software packages at prices that are hard to beat.

• 17 to be more successful than other people or companies that you are competing against:

  • The way to beat the competition is to recruit and retain talented staff.

• 18 to be eager to buy or get something from someone:

  • By making furniture distinguished in design and workmanship, it has persuaded buyers to beat a path to its door.

• 19 to decide not to continue with something that has become too difficult or not worth doing:

  • Most of the market beat a hasty retreat, investors being unimpressed by a volatile performance on Wall Street.

  • beat a retreat from sth The prime minister's cabinet continues to beat a retreat from many economic reforms.

• 20 to use the methods by which someone has tried to defeat you to your own advantage:

  • By buying two competitors who tried to beat him at his own game, he created the three networks he now owns.

• 21 to achieve something before someone else does it:

  • We got very close to buying the franchise last year before another company beat us to it.

• 22 to succeed despite having a disadvantage:

  • Many mergers fail to deliver value to shareholders, but the bank's new president thinks it will be able to beat the odds.

• 23 said when you accept that you cannot be as successful as someone else without doing what they do:

  • If you can't beat them, join them. Beginning in February the domestic distributor will become the exclusive U.S. importer for the popular foreign brands.

• 24 to do something so well that it is difficult for anyone else to do better:

  • The automaker has delivered an impressive hatchback car that will take some beating.