beat

BEET/biːt/

Verbbeats, beating, beat, beaten

Noun pluralbeats

Often confused with win

41 meanings of beat

Practice

1
defeatverbtransitive
To win against someone, get past a problem, or do better than someone or something.
Like finishing first in a race while everyone else trails behind.
Our team can beat any school in the league.
She beat her brother at chess again last night.
UsageSay we beat them, but we won the game (not ~~incorrect: we won them~~).
Similardefeat, outdo, best, overcome, trounce
Oppositelose
Note
2
hitverbtransitive
To hit someone or something again and again, such as a person or a drum.
Like hitting a drum with your hand.
Please don't beat the rug so hard against the wall.
She beat the carpet to knock the dust loose.
UsageSay he was beaten. The past is beat.
Similarthrash, batter, pummel
Note
3
rhythm patternnouncountable
The steady rhythm you can tap along to in music, or one count of it.
Like the steady pattern your feet make when you dance.
The song has a catchy beat.
Dancers swayed to the slow beat.
UsageDance to the beat.
Similarrhythm, pulse, groove
4
verbintransitive
To move with a steady throb, like a heart.
Like the steady thump you feel in your chest.
Her heart beat fast as she opened the letter.
You can feel your heart beat after a hard run.
Similarthrob, pound, pulse, thump, pulsate
5
hip-hop tracknouncountable
The instrumental backing of a hip-hop song, without the words.
Like the music a singer sings on top of.
The producer made a fresh beat for the new song.
Rappers wrote their lyrics over the slow beat.
Similarinstrumental, track
6
whiskverbtransitive
To mix food quickly with fast strokes.
Like stirring really fast until everything is smooth.
Beat the eggs before you add the flour.
She beat the batter until it was smooth.
UsageSay beat the eggs until smooth.
Similarwhisk, whip, mix, blend
7
verbtransitive
To get to a place before someone else does.
Like winning a race to the door.
I beat my brother to the front door every morning.
She beat the others to the meeting room.
UsageSay I beat my brother to the door.
Similarpip
8
nouncountable
A single throb or pulse, like one movement of the heart.
Like the steady tap-tap you feel when you press your wrist.
The doctor felt a strong beat in her wrist.
She could feel each beat of her heart as she waited to go on stage.
Similarthrob, pulsation, thump, pulse
9
news topicnouncountable
The area or subject someone regularly covers in their job, like a police officer's route or a reporter's topic.
Like a mail carrier who delivers to the same streets every day.
She covers the crime beat for the local newspaper.
After ten years on the education beat, he knew every school in town.
UsageSay she covers the crime beat.
Similarpatch, territory, round
Note
10
1950s writing styleadjective
Having to do with the Beat Generation of writers and artists from the 1950s.
She loves beat poetry from the fifties.
The museum showed beat art and old photographs.
UsageUsed before a noun, often with a capital letter: Beat poetry, a Beat poet.
Note

Less common meanings

11
exhaustedadjectiveslangUS
Very tired and without energy.
Like a phone battery that has run all the way down.
After the long shift, I was completely beat.
She felt too beat to cook dinner.
Similarexhausted, bushed, pooped, drained, knackered
Oppositefresh, rested, energetic
Note
12
single blownouncountable
A single hit or blow.
Like one knock on a door.
One loud beat of the drum told the runners to start.
With each beat of the hammer, the nail sank deeper.
Similarstroke, blow, strike
Note
13
nouncountable
One small moment or step in a story that moves it forward or shows a character changing.
The scene where she finds the old letter is a big beat in the movie.
The writers planned every beat of the first episode on a whiteboard.
Similarmoment
Note
14
verbtransitive
To make the mind work very hard, or to confuse or worry someone.
It beats me why the bus is always late on Mondays.
Don't beat your brains out over that math problem. Just ask your teacher.
UsageIt beats me means I don't know.
Similarbaffle, puzzle, mystify
Note
15
run-downadjectiveslang
Old and worn out, in bad shape.
Like a toy that's been dropped and played with too many times.
His sneakers were totally beat by the end of summer.
They drove around in a beat old truck.
UsageSay a beat old truck.
Similarbattered, shabby, worn, ratty
Oppositepristine, new
16
pause (script)nouncountable
A short pause in a script that adds drama or makes a joke land.
Like waiting a moment before saying the surprise in a story.
The actor held a beat before delivering the punchline.
Add a beat here so the bad news can sink in.
UsageSay hold a beat before the joke.
Similarpause
Note
17
nouncountable
A young person from the 1950s who turned away from mainstream life to follow art, poetry, and free living.
Like an artist who chooses a free life instead of a regular job.
My grandfather was a beat who wrote poems in the 1950s.
The beats gathered in the basement club to share their writing.
Similarbeatnik
Note
18
sound when hitverbintransitive
To make a sound after being hit.
Like a glass that rings when you tap it.
We heard drums beating somewhere across the river.
The drums beat louder and louder as the dancers spin.
Similarsound, resound, ring, boom
19
announce by drumverbtransitive
To show something by hitting a drum or surface in a pattern.
Like tapping out a message so others know what to do.
Drummers beat a steady call to signal the retreat.
She beat out the rhythm on the tabletop with her hand.
UsageBeat a retreat once meant drumming the signal to pull back. Now it usually means to leave fast.
Similarsound, drum, tap
Note
20
verbtransitive
To walk along a path or way, pressing it down with your feet.
Every day the kids beat a path across the empty lot to school.
Over the years, walkers have beaten a clear path up the hill.
UsageOff the beaten track means far from busy places.
Similarwear, tread
Note
21
adjectiveslang
Dull and not fun at all.
Like a rainy day with nothing to play.
That movie was so beat I fell asleep halfway through.
This party is so beat. Let's go somewhere else.
Similarboring, dull, tedious, lame
Oppositeexciting, interesting
Note
22
strike bushesverbtransitive
To hit bushes or water to scare animals out, or to move through a forest while hunting.
Like hitting a bush to make a hiding cat run out.
Beaters beat the undergrowth to flush birds toward the guns.
They beat the tall grass with sticks until a pheasant flew up.
Similarthrash, scour
Note
23
game drivenouncountable
The job of searching across land to scare animals out for hunters, or the people doing it.
Like a group walking in a line to chase animals out of the bushes.
The hunters planned a careful beat across the moor.
The beat moved slowly through the brush, shouting to scare the birds.
Note
24
verbtransitive
For a bird, bat, or insect, to move its wings up and down very fast, often while flying.
Hummingbirds beat their wings so fast that you can hardly see them.
A moth was beating its wings against the lamp.
Similarflap, flutter
25
noun
The pulsing sound made when two close notes mix together.
26
verb
To make a throbbing sound when two close notes mix.
27
noundated
A story or finding reported before any rival can report it.
It's a beat on the whole country.
1898, unknown author, Scribner's Magazine
28
noundated
Someone or something better than another.
29
nounobsoleteSouthern US
A voting area inside a county in the southern US.
30
noundated
A place a person often goes to.
31
noundatedAustralia
A public place where gay men meet to find sex partners.
32
nounarchaic
A dishonest person who tricks others and deserves no respect.
“If I get away I sha’n’t be here,” I says, “to prove these rapscallions ain’t your uncles, and I couldn’t do it if I was here. I could swear they was beats and bummers, that’s all, though that’s worth something.
1884, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
33
noun
In fencing, a quick hit on the other person's sword.
34
nounslang
The makeup someone is wearing on their face.
35
verb
To sail toward the wind by turning from side to side.
36
verbUK
To get a seller to ask for less money.
37
verb
To feel worried or unsure.
38
verbdialectalMulticultural London English
To have sex with someone, in slang.
39
verbslang
To cheat someone or steal from them.
40
adjective
Wearing very good, perfect-looking makeup.
41
adjectiveslang
Not nice to look at.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of beat apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–9, 12–14, 16, 18–20, 22–24

From Old English bēatan, meaning to beat or strike. It goes back to an older Germanic root meaning to hit, and perhaps to an Indo-European one.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

Beat descends from Old English bēatan, through Middle English beten. en.wiktionary.org
Old English bēatan meant to beat or strike. lrc.la.utexas.edu
The Old English word descends from an older Germanic form meaning to hit. en.wiktionary.org
An Indo-European origin has been proposed but is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 11, 15, 21

This is the past tense of the verb "beat." It comes from the Old English past form bēot of bēatan.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Beat is the past tense of the verb beat. en.wiktionary.org
The past-tense form descends from Old English bēot, the past tense of bēatan. en.wiktionary.org