beat

English Dictionary -> Letter B -> beat

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beat Definition

(n) a regular route for a sentry or policeman; "in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name"
(n) the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart"
(n) the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music; "the piece has a fast rhythm"; "the conductor set the beat"
(n) a single pulsation of an oscillation produced by adding two waves of different frequencies; has a frequency equal to the difference between the two oscillations
(n) a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior
(n) the sound of stroke or blow; "he heard the beat of a drum"
(n) (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
(n) a regular rate of repetition; "the cox raised the beat"
(n) a stroke or blow; "the signal was two beats on the steam pipe"
(n) the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
(v) come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"
(v) give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression; "Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night"; "The teacher used to beat the students"
(v) hit repeatedly; "beat on the door"; "beat the table with his shoe"
(v) move rhythmically; "Her heart was beating fast"
(v) shape by beating; "beat swords into ploughshares"
(v) make a rhythmic sound; "Rain drummed against the windshield"; "The drums beat all night"
(v) glare or strike with great intensity; "The sun was beating down on us"
(v) move with a thrashing motion; "The bird flapped its wings"; "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky"
(v) sail with much tacking or with difficulty; "The boat beat in the strong wind"
(v) stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream"
(v) strike (a part of one''s own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music; "beat one''s breast"; "beat one''s foot rhythmically"
(v) be superior; "Reading beats watching television"; "This sure beats work!"
(v) avoid paying; "beat the subway fare"
(v) make a sound like a clock or a timer; "the clocks were ticking"; "the grandfather clock beat midnight"
(v) move with a flapping motion; "The bird''s wings were flapping"
(v) indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks; "Beat the rhythm"
(v) move with or as if with a regular alternating motion; "the city pulsated with music and excitement"
(v) make by pounding or trampling; "beat a path through the forest"
(v) produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly; "beat the drum"
(v) strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting
(v) beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She outfoxed her competitors"
(v) be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don''t know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me"
(v) wear out completely; "This kind of work exhausts me"; "I''m beat"; "He was all washed up after the exam"

beat Synonyms