to beat
- verb
- /biːt/
- Specialized
- To reach the harbor, the sailors had to beat upwind, constantly adjusting their sails.
Examples
-
We can beat the storm.
-
The rain mixed with sleet beats fiercely against the tin body of the car.
Fiction book (1993) -
The Packet has to beat her way high up to windward to shoot the gap.
Fiction book (1998) -
Against the wind, the Dutchman beats us that's what she takes her break.
-
The captain skillfully directed the boat to beat against the strong wind, zigzagging to make progress.
-
The crew worked diligently to beat their way through the challenging waters toward the destination.
Antonyms
To move slowly without a clear direction, for example when air or water move something
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
Surface Forms
Etymology
When a boat beats upwind, it makes many short, repeated moves to make progress; the word links to the idea of doing something again and again like a repeated strike. So to beat in sailing is to make slow, repeated progress against the wind.