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 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
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
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 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 grandfather clock beat midnight
v move with a flapping motion
v indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks
v move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
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
v be a mystery or bewildering to
This beats me!
v wear out completely
I'm beat
s very tired
so beat I could flop down and go to sleep anywhere