beat

beat¹ W2S2 [bi:t] v past tense beat past participle beaten [ˈbi:tn]

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1¦(competition/election)¦

2¦(hit)¦

3¦(hit against)¦

4¦(do better)¦

5¦(be better)¦

6¦(food)¦

7¦(control/deal with)¦

8¦(heart)¦

9¦(drums)¦

10¦(wings)¦

11 take some beating

12¦(avoid)¦

13¦(do before somebody else)¦

14 beat about/around the bush

15 beat the system

16 beat a path (to somebody's door)

17 beat a (hasty) retreat

18 beat the clock

19 (it) beats me

20 beat it!

21 can you beat that/it?

22 beat your brains out

23 if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

24 beat the rap

25 beat time

26 beat a path/track

27 to beat the band

28 beat the heat

29¦(metal)¦

30¦(hunting)¦

31 beat your breast

Phrasal verbs

　beat down

　beat off

　beat somebody/something<=>out

　beat up

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[: Old English; Origin: beatan]

1.) ¦(COMPETITION/ELECTION)¦ [T]

to get the most points, votes etc in a game, race, or competition

= ↑defeat

▪ Brazil were beaten, 2-1.

▪ Labour easily beat the Conservatives in the last election.

beat sb at/in sth

▪ I beat him more often at pool than he beats me.

beat sb hollow

BrE /beat the pants off sb

AmE (=defeat them easily)

2.) ¦(HIT)¦ [T]

to hit someone or something many times with your hand, a stick etc

▪ photographs of rioters beating a policeman

▪ He was questioned and beaten.

▪ The woman had been beaten to death by her husband.

▪ Two prisoners were beaten unconscious .

beat sb black and blue

(=hit someone until it makes marks on their body)

beat the living daylights out of sb

(=beat someone very hard)

3.) ¦(HIT AGAINST)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

to hit against something many times or continuously

beat on/against/at etc

▪ Waves beat against the cliffs.

▪ rain beating on the windows

▪ Sid beat on the door with his hand.

4.) ¦(DO BETTER)¦ [T]

to do something better, faster etc than what was best before

beat a record/score etc

▪ The record set by Kierson in '84 has yet to be beaten.

▪ The company's profits are unlikely to beat last year's £10 million.

▪ See how many times you can do it in a minute, and then try to beat that amount.

5.) ¦(BE BETTER)¦ [T not in progressive]

especially spoken to be much better and more enjoyable than something else

▪ Fresh milk beats powdered milk any time.

beat doing sth

▪ 'Well,' said Culley, 'it beats going to the office.'

▪ You can't beat swimming as a good all-body exercise.

▪ Nothing beats homemade cake.

you can't beat sth (for sth)

▪ For excitement, you just can't beat college basketball.

6.) ¦(FOOD)¦ [I and T]

to mix things together quickly with a fork or special kitchen machine

▪ Beat the eggs, then add the milk.

beat sth in

▪ Gradually beat in the sugar.

beat sth together

▪ Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.

7.) ¦(CONTROL/DEAL WITH)¦ [T]

to successfully deal with a problem that you have been struggling with

= ↑conquer

▪ advice on how to beat depression

▪ the government's long fight to beat inflation

8.) ¦(HEART)¦

when your heart beats, it moves in a regular ↑rhythm as it pumps your blood

▪ The average person's heart beats 70 times a minute.

▪ Jennifer's heart was beating fast.

9.) ¦(DRUMS)¦ [I and T]

if you beat drums, or if drums beat, they make a regular continuous sound

10.) ¦(WINGS)¦ [I and T]

if a bird beats its wings, or if its wings beat, they move up and down quickly and regularly

= ↑flap

11.) take some beating

if something or someone will take some beating, it will be difficult for anyone or anything to be or do better

▪ Schumacher has 42 points, which will take some beating.

▪ For ease of use, this program will take some beating.

▪ Florida takes some beating as a vacation destination.

12.) ¦(AVOID)¦ [T]

to avoid situations in which a lot of people are trying to do something, usually by doing something early

▪ We left at four a.m. to beat the traffic.

▪ Shopping by mail order lets you beat the queues.

▪ Shop now and beat the Christmas rush !

13.) ¦(DO BEFORE SOMEBODY ELSE)¦ [T] [i]informal

to get or do something before someone else, especially if you are both trying to do it first

beat sb to sth

▪ John had beaten me to the breakfast table.

▪ I wanted the last piece of pie, but somebody beat me to it .

▪ They wanted to make it into a film, but another studio beat them to the punch .

14.) beat about/around the bush

to avoid or delay talking about something embarrassing or unpleasant

▪ Don't beat around the bush. Ask for your account to be paid, and paid quickly.

15.) beat the system

to find ways of avoiding or breaking the rules of an organization, system etc, in order to achieve what you want

▪ Accountants know a few ways to beat the system.

16.) beat a path (to sb's door) also beat down sb's door

if people beat a path to your door, they are interested in something you are selling, a service you are providing etc

▪ The new design was supposed to have consumers beating a path to their door.

17.) beat a (hasty) retreat

to leave somewhere or stop doing something very quickly, in order to avoid a bad situation

▪ Spicer beat a hasty retreat when he spotted me.

18.) beat the clock

to finish something very quickly, especially before a particular time

▪ The company managed to beat the clock on delivering its new system.

19.) spoken (it) beats me

used to say that you do not know something or cannot understand or explain it

▪ Beats me why he wants such a big car.

▪ 'What's he saying?' 'Beats me.'

20.) spoken beat it!

used to tell someone to leave at once, because they are annoying you or should not be there

21.) spoken can you beat that/it?

used to show that you are surprised or annoyed by something

▪ They've got eight children! Can you beat that?

22.) spoken beat your brains out

to think about something very hard and for a long time

▪ I've been beating my brains out all week trying to finish this essay.

23.) spoken if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

used when you decide to take part in something even though you disapprove of it, because everyone else is doing it and you cannot stop them

24.) beat the rap

AmE informal to avoid being punished for something you have done

25.) beat time

to make regular movements or sounds to show the speed at which music should be played

▪ a conductor beating time with his baton

26.) beat a path/track

to make a path by walking over an area of land

27.) to beat the band

AmE informal in large amounts or with great force

▪ It's raining to beat the band.

28.) beat the heat

AmE informal to make yourself cooler

▪ Fresh lemonade is a great way to beat the heat.

29.) ¦(METAL)¦ also beat out [T]

to hit metal with a hammer in order to shape it or make it thinner

30.)¦(HUNTING)¦ [I and T]

to force wild birds and animals out of bushes, long grass etc so that they can be shot for sport

31.) beat your breast

literary to show clearly that you are very upset or sorry about something

→↑beaten, ↑beating

beat down phr v

1.) if the sun beats down, it shines very brightly and the weather is hot

2.) if the rain beats down, it is raining very hard

3.) beat the door down

to hit a door so hard that it falls down

4.) beat sb down

BrE to persuade someone to reduce a price

beat somebody down to

▪ He wanted £4500 for the car but I beat him down to £3850.

5.) beat sb<=> down

to make someone feel defeated, so they no longer respect themselves

▪ The women seemed beaten down.

beat off phr v

1.) beat sb/sth<=> off

to succeed in defeating someone who is attacking, opposing, or competing with you

▪ McConnell beat off a challenge for his Senate seat.

2.) AmE informal not polite if a man beats off, he ↑masturbates

beat out [beat sb/sth<=>out] phr v

1.) if a drum or something else beats out a ↑rhythm, or if you beat out a rhythm on a drum, it makes a continuous regular sound

2.) especially AmE to defeat someone in a competition

▪ Lockheed beat out a rival company to win the contract.

beat somebody/something<=>out for

▪ Roberts beat out Tony Gwynn for the Most Valuable Player Award.

3.) to put out a fire by hitting it many times with something such as a cloth

beat up phr v

1.) beat sb<=> up

to hurt someone badly by hitting them

▪ Her boyfriend got drunk and beat her up.

2.) beat up on sb

AmE to hit someone and harm them, especially someone younger or weaker than yourself

3.) beat yourself up also beat up on yourself

AmE informal to blame yourself too much for something

▪ If you do your best and you lose, you can't beat yourself up about it.

beat ²

beat² S3 n

1.)

one of a series of regular movements or hitting actions

▪ a heart rate of 80 beats a minute

▪ the steady beat of the drum

2.) [singular]

a regular repeated noise

= ↑rhythm beat of

▪ the beat of marching feet

3.)

the main ↑rhythm that a piece of music or a poem has

▪ a song with a beat you can dance to

▪ a poem with a very regular beat

4.) [singular]

a subject or area of a city that someone is responsible for as their job

▪ journalists covering the Washington beat

on the beat

▪ People like to see police officers on the beat.

5.)

one of the notes in a piece of music that sounds stronger than the other notes

beat ³

beat³ adj [not before noun]

informal very tired

= ↑exhausted

▪ I'm beat.

▪ Come and sit down, you must be dead beat .