What does "beat" mean?
A stroke; a blow.
Beat
/biːt/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A stroke; a blow.
- Grammar: beat is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cadence, meter, pulse, rhythm.
- Useful contrasts: energetic, fresh, lose.
- Usage evidence: I beat him completely in the debate.
How to use "beat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "beat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "beat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "beat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "beat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "beat" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cadence" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "beat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A stroke; a blow.
"He, […]with a careless beat, / Struck out the mute creation at a heat."
- 2 A beatnik.
"The beats were pioneers with no destination, changing the world one impulse at a time."
- 3 the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing wordnet
- 4 A pulsation or throb.
"a beat of the heart"
- 5 a stroke or blow wordnet
Show 25 more definitions
- 6 A pulse on the beat level, the metric level at which pulses are heard as the basic unit. Thus a beat is the basic time unit of a piece.
- 7 a regular rate of repetition wordnet
- 8 A rhythm.
"I love watching her dance to a pretty drum beat with a bouncy rhythm!"
- 9 the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music wordnet
- 10 A rhythm.; The rhythm signalled by a conductor or other musician to the members of a group of musicians.
- 11 (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse wordnet
- 12 The instrumental portion of a piece of hip-hop music.
- 13 the sound of stroke or blow wordnet
- 14 The interference between two tones of almost equal frequency
- 15 the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart wordnet
- 16 A short pause in a play, screenplay, or teleplay, for dramatic or comedic effect.
- 17 a regular route for a sentry or policeman wordnet
- 18 An area of a person's responsibility, especially; The route patrolled by a police officer or a guard. broadly
"to walk the beat"
- 19 a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior wordnet
- 20 An area of a person's responsibility, especially; The primary focus of a reporter's stories (such as police/courts, education, city government, business etc.). broadly
"As an adult, I became a journalist whose beat is the environment. In a way, I’ve turned my youthful preoccupations into a profession."
- 21 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 wordnet
- 22 An act of reporting news or scientific results before a rival; a scoop. dated
"It's a beat on the whole country."
- 23 That which beats, or surpasses, another or others. colloquial, dated
"the beat of him"
- 24 A precinct. Southern-US, dated, obsolete
- 25 A place of habitual or frequent resort. dated
- 26 A place of habitual or frequent resort.; An area frequented by gay men in search of sexual activity. See gay beat. Australia, dated
- 27 A low cheat or swindler. archaic
"a dead beat"
- 28 The act of scouring, or ranging over, a tract of land to rouse or drive out game; also, those so engaged, collectively.
"Bears coming out of holes in the rocks at the last moment, when the beat is close to them."
- 29 A smart tap on the adversary's blade.
- 30 A makeup look; compare beat one's face. slang
"She made sure to give fans all the details about her beat in the caption."
Verb
- 1 To hit; to strike. transitive
"As soon as she heard that her father had died, she went into a rage and beat the wall with her fists until her knuckles bled."
- 2 simple past tense of beat
- 3 wear out completely wordnet
- 4 To strike or pound repeatedly, usually in some sort of rhythm. transitive
"He danced hypnotically while she beat the atabaque."
- 5 past participle of beat colloquial, especially, form-of, participle, past
Show 39 more definitions
- 6 be a mystery or bewildering to wordnet
- 7 To strike repeatedly; to inflict repeated blows; to knock vigorously or loudly. intransitive
"[…] the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door […]"
- 8 come out better in a competition, race, or conflict wordnet
- 9 To move with pulsation or throbbing. intransitive
"A thousand hearts beat happily."
- 10 beat through cleverness and wit wordnet
- 11 To win against; to defeat or overcome; to do or be better than (someone); to excel in a particular, competitive event. transitive
"Jan had little trouble beating John in tennis. He lost five games in a row."
- 12 give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression wordnet
- 13 To sail to windward using a series of alternate tacks across the wind. intransitive
- 14 hit repeatedly wordnet
- 15 To strike (water, foliage etc.) in order to drive out game; to travel through (a forest etc.) for hunting. transitive
"The part of the wood to be beaten for deer sloped all the way from the roadside to the loch."
- 16 strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting wordnet
- 17 To mix food in a rapid fashion. Compare whip.
"Beat the eggs and whip the cream."
- 18 strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music wordnet
- 19 To persuade the seller to reduce a price. UK, transitive
"He wanted $50 for it, but I managed to beat him down to $35."
- 20 stir vigorously wordnet
- 21 To indicate by beating or drumming. transitive
"to beat a retreat; to beat to quarters"
- 22 shape by beating wordnet
- 23 To tread, as a path.
"While I this unexampled task essay, / Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way, / Celestial Dove! divine assistance bring, / Sustain me on thy strong-extended wing,"
- 24 produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly wordnet
- 25 To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble.
"I know not why any one should waste his time, and beat his head about the Latin grammar, who does not intend to be a critick, or make speeches, and write dispatches in it."
- 26 make by pounding or trampling wordnet
- 27 To be in agitation or doubt.
"to still my beating mind"
- 28 move with or as if with a regular alternating motion wordnet
- 29 To make a sound when struck.
"The drums beat."
- 30 move rhythmically wordnet
- 31 To make a succession of strokes on a drum. intransitive
"The drummers beat to call soldiers to their quarters."
- 32 indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks wordnet
- 33 To sound with more or less rapid alternations of greater and lesser intensity, so as to produce a pulsating effect; said of instruments, tones, or vibrations not perfectly in unison.
- 34 sail with much tacking or with difficulty wordnet
- 35 To arrive at a place before someone. transitive
"He beat me there."
- 36 move with a flapping motion wordnet
- 37 To have sexual intercourse. Multicultural-London-English, intransitive, slang, vulgar
"Bruv, she came in just as we started to beat."
- 38 move with a thrashing motion wordnet
- 39 To rob; to cheat or scam. slang, transitive
"He beat me out of 12 bucks last night."
- 40 glare or strike with great intensity wordnet
- 41 make a rhythmic sound wordnet
- 42 make a sound like a clock or a timer wordnet
- 43 avoid paying wordnet
- 44 be superior wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Exhausted. US, slang
"After the long day, she was feeling completely beat."
- 2 Relating to the Beat Generation.
"beat poetry"
- 3 Dilapidated, beat up. slang
"Dude, you drive a beat car like that and you ain’t gonna get no honeys."
- 4 Having impressively attractive makeup.
"Her face was beat for the gods!"
- 5 Boring. slang
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Ugly. slang
Adjective
- 1 very tired wordnet
Example
"I beat him completely in the debate."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "beat"?
Common synonyms include: cadence, meter, pulse, rhythm, about ship, abrade.
How do you use "beat" in a sentence?
I beat him completely in the debate.
How do you pronounce "beat"?
Pronounced /biːt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan (“to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push, strike”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch boten, botten, butten (“to push, strike”), German boßen (“to thrash”), Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (*bautan, “to beat, strike”) (whence, probably, Galician and Portuguese botar (“to expel; to throw”)); also Latin fūstis (“club, cudgel, knobbed stick, staff”), *fūtō (“to strike”), Albanian bahe, hobe (“sling”), Armenian բութ (butʻ), բույթ (buytʻ, “thumb”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English bet (simple past of beten "to beat"), from Old English bēot (simple past of bēatan "to beat"). Middle English bet would regularly yield *beet; the modern form is influenced by the present stem and the past participle beaten, perhaps by analogy with the Early Modern English paradigm eat:eat (“ate”):eaten. Pronunciations with /ɛ/ (from Middle English bette, alternative simple past of beten) are possibly analogous to read (/ɹɛd/), led, met, etc.
Etymology 3
From beatnik, or beat generation.