to beat
- verb
- /biːt/
- NSFW
- This doesn't mean you need to beat on your chest.
- the heart beats
- savagely beat
- detained and beaten
This was a teenage boy who beat on a little girl.
- This was a teenage boy who beat on a little girl.
- Yo, I'm going to fucking beat this box to shreds.
- And I see the way he beats minorities down.
- Speak life into that man, not beat him while he's down.
- We're about to watch Rocky get beat down these punks.
- Andreas can beat people up and I climb.
- They did not beat me, did not treat me rough.
- Her name was Kizzy and she would beat all the boys ass.
- And first they beat me up and then they stole it.
- He said no, no, no, you know, don't beat him, he's fine.
- Like, no, he will continue to beat that drum until that thing works.
Examples
-
Inside, she felt the drums begin to beat as she realized he did mean it.
Fiction book (1990) -
Your friend is telling you not to beat yourself up for it.
-
The chief himself held the drum, beat time, and often joined in the song.
Academic text (2017) -
I can barely hear my heart beating.
-
You have been beaten.
-
He started to beat the drum in time with the music.
-
The coach told the players to beat the opponents during the final match.
-
She would beat the eggs until they were fluffy and ready for the cake.
Synonyms
To hit someone or something with force
To hit or close something suddenly and loudly
To attack someone by hitting them again and again to hurt them
To hit something again and again very hard
To hit something many times to shape or flatten it
To move up and down quickly, like wings or flags
Hit something many times, usually with your fists
To move in a steady rhythm like a heart
To make a continuous rhythmic sound by hitting a surface
To beat or move in a steady rhythm
To keep going despite difficulty or to make a steady sound like rain on a roof
To make strong regular beats you can feel in your chest
To physically attack and beat someone to punish or threaten them
To hit something quickly to make a short sharp sound
Make a rhythm by hitting something repeatedly, like a drum
To touch something lightly with fingers or an object to make a rhythm
To hit someone quickly in a light, playful way
To play a strong, repeated beat by hitting an instrument like a drum
Play a loud, strong rhythm on a drum or instrument
To make a low, steady humming sound
To hit something so it makes a dull thumping sound
Antonyms
Idioms
- Offensive
Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt or win against them very clearly
- Informal
To feel your heart stop for a moment because you are suddenly excited or scared
- Informal
Push away a lot of people or fans as a joke about being too popular
- Literature
To change weapons into tools for peaceful work like farming
Phrasal Verbs
- Offensive
To hurt or defeat someone very badly, often by hitting them
- Informal
To keep going despite difficulty or to make a steady sound like rain on a roof
- Offensive
To defeat someone completely, often physically or in a game, used in rude speech
Compounds
- NSFW
A group of American writers and artists from the 1950s who reject social rules and choose free creative lives
- Archaic
A style of pop rock from 1960s Britain with strong rhythms and simple melodies
How Hard
Surface Forms
Etymology
Beat originally meant 'to strike' and comes from the Old English word beatan, which also meant hitting again and again. So to beat something is to hit or strike it repeatedly.