1 [predic.] informal completely exhausted:I’m beat—I need an hour or so to rest
2 [attributive] relating to the beat generation or its philosophy:beat poet Allen Ginsberg
არსებითი სახელი
Universal
1a main accent or rhythmic unit in music or poetry:the glissando begins on the second beat
a strong rhythm in popular music:the music changed to a funky disco beat
[in singular] a regular, rhythmic sound or movement:the beat of the wipers became almost hypnotic
the sound made when something, especially a musical instrument, is struck:he heard a regular drum beat
a pulsation of the heart.
a periodic variation of sound or amplitude due to the combination of two sounds, electrical signals, or other vibrations having similar but not identical frequencies.
2the movement of a bird’s wings:the beat of the swallow’s wings as they dive after midges
3an area allocated to a police officer and patrolled on foot:his beat was in North Londonpublic clamour for more policemen on the beat
a spell of duty allocated to a police officer:his beat ended at 6 a.m.
an area regularly frequented by someone:a few, new to their beat, looked at him with interest
informal a person’s area of interest:his beat is construction, property, and hotels
a stretch of water fished by an angler:you don’t necessarily have to fish on the priciest beats to find good sport
4a brief pause or moment of hesitation:she waited for a beat of three seconds
[from the use of a stage direction referring to such a pause]
1strike (a person or an animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or injure them, typically with an implement such as a club or whip:aristocratic women were often beaten by their husbandsthe victims were beaten to death with baseball bats
strike (an object) repeatedly so as to make a noise:he beat the table with his hand
[no object] (of an instrument) make a rhythmical sound through being struck:drums were beating in the distance
strike (a carpet, blanket, etc.) repeatedly in order to remove dust:upright cleaners have a motorized head which beats the carpet to loosen the dirt
flatten or shape (metal) by striking it repeatedly with a hammer:pure gold can be beaten out to form very thin sheets
(beat something against/on) strike something against (something):she beat her fists against the wood
[no object] strike repeatedly at or on something:Sidney beat on the door with the flat of his handEmmie began to beat at the flames
move across (an area of land) repeatedly striking at the ground cover in order to raise game birds for shooting:they hire boys to beat the Yorkshire moors for game birds
2defeat (someone) in a game or other competitive situation:she beat him easily at chessJuventus were beaten 2-1
overcome (a problem or disease):the battle to beat car crimehe beat heroin addiction in 1992
do or be better than (a record or score):he beat his own world record
informal be better than:you can’t beat the taste of fresh raspberries
informal baffle:it beats me how you manage to work in this heat
3succeed in getting somewhere ahead of (someone):the defender beat him to the ball
take action to avoid (difficulty or inconvenience):they set off early to beat the traffic
4 [no object] (of the heart) pulsate:her heart beat faster with panic
5(of a bird) move (the wings) up and down:doves wheel around the rooftops, beating their wings
[no object] (of a bird) fly making rhythmic wing movements:an owl beat low over the salt marsh
6stir (cooking ingredients) vigorously to make a smooth or frothy mixture:beat the butter until light and fluffybeat the cream into the mixture
8 [no object, with adverbial of direction] Sailing sail into the wind, following a zigzag course with repeated tacking:we beat southwards all that first day
beat about the bush
discuss a matter without coming to the point:he never beat about the bush when something was annoying him
historical mark parish boundaries by walking round them and striking certain points with rods:a large procession, headed by the clergyman, would beat the bounds over a period of two days
informal prove to be vastly superior to:it’s an ugly lump of plastic, but it sure beats the pants off the UK model
beat a path to someone's door
(of a large number of people) hasten to make contact with someone regarded as interesting or inspiring:the students and their professors beat a path to his door
beat a (hasty) retreat
withdraw quickly in order to avoid something unpleasant:as the bombs started to go off, they beat a hasty retreat across the field
beat the system
succeed in finding a means of getting round rules, regulations, or other means of control:it may be that we secretly admire those who try to beat the system
beat time
indicate or follow a musical tempo with a baton or other means.
beat someone to it
succeed in doing something or getting somewhere before someone else:you’d better get a move on or they’ll beat you to it
if you can't beat them, join them
humorous if you are unable to outdo rivals in some endeavour, you might as well cooperate with them and thereby possibly gain an advantage.
to beat all ——s
infinitely better than all the things of the specified type:a PC screen saver to beat all screen savers
to beat the band
North American informal in such a way as to surpass all competition:they were talking to beat the band
beat someone back
force (someone trying to do something) to retreat:I was beaten back by the flames
beat down
(of the sun) radiate intense heat and brightness:the sun beat down on them with fiery intensity
(of rain) fall hard and continuously:the rain continued to beat down on him
beat something down
quell defence or resistance:the senator had beaten down my last defence
fight to suppress a feeling or emotion:she beat down a gush of self-pity
beat someone down
force someone to reduce the price of something:I had at least attempted to beat him down on the charter price
beat off
vulgar slang (of a man) masturbate.
beat someone/thing off
succeed in resisting an attacker or an attack:we beat off the raiders with sticks and broom handles
win against a challenge or rival:the firm had beaten off competition from 260 other submissions
beat something out
1produce a loud, rhythmic sound by striking something:he beat out a rhythm on the drums
2extinguish flames by striking at them with a suitable object:he made a frantic dash to grab an armful of branches and beat out the flames
beat someone up
assault and injure someone by hitting, kicking, or punching them repeatedly:they threatened to beat him up if he didn’t hand over the money
(beat oneself up) informal reproach or criticize oneself excessively.
