0 to defeat or do better than:
I was just going to clean the kitchen, but you beat me to it.
Let's try to beat the traffic by leaving early in the morning.
You can't beat (= there is nothing more enjoyable than) a cold beer on a hot afternoon.
slang Taking the bus beats the hell out of (= is much better than) walking all the way there.
[ + -ing verb ] Taking the bus sure beats walking.
They were beaten hands down (= completely) by their opponents.
Our team was comfortably/easily/soundly beaten in the first round of the competition.
The Miami Heat beat the Pacers 95-90/by five points.
Holland beat Belgium (by) 3–1.
Simon always beats me at tennis.
1 to hit repeatedly:
2 to mix something repeatedly using a utensil such as a spoon or whisk:
5 a regular movement or sound, especially that made by your heart:
This week in Washington, for many there is only one story, only one beat: the allegations against the president.
Sometimes, when they cut the movie together, it doesn't work. Because the beats of comedy are in the cutting.
The sequences are told sideways; the story beats aren’t as obvious as they usually are, but they do connect up with the larger story.
The series has yet to progress from its promising debut, reiterating the same plot and character beats.
It's all about making sense of the story from beat to beat, figuring out if a scene adds up.
Waltzes have three beats in/to the bar.
