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to beat

to beat

190 7.0
To be too difficult for someone to understand
  • verb
  • /biːt/
  • Informal
translation icon : desconcertar
  • The complicated puzzle really beat me; I couldn't figure it out no matter how hard I tried.

Because for many people it is very challenging to beat their biology, right?

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Examples

  • When she explained the difficult math problem, it completely beat him, leaving him feeling bewildered.

  • After reading the article, I felt beat by all the complex theories presented in it.

  • Because for many people it is very challenging to beat their biology, right?

  • My father was saying to my mother, "Let's not beat around the bush here."

    Fiction book (1991)
  • It is so hard to beat this formula.

  • And I assure you it beats sleeping on that bench in your LC.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • It sure beats another boring summer in Dorklahoma.

  • Rick, I’m not gonna beat around the bush here.

Synonyms

to confuse
vsto beat
266 1.9

Make someone unable to think clearly or make something hard to understand

is narrower, meaning specifically too difficult for someone to solve or understand
to puzzle
vsto beat
73 4.9

To make someone feel confused when something is hard to understand

focuses on being too hard for someone to understand or solve
to baffle
vsto beat
65 5.3

To make someone very confused and unable to understand

is about being too hard to grasp rather than being a puzzling mystery
to defy
vsto beat
54 5.5

Be impossible to explain or understand

is about difficulty for a person to understand or solve rather than inexplicability
to stump
vsto beat
39 5.3

To make someone unable to answer a question

is the general idea of being too hard to understand or solve
to perplex
vsto beat
35 6.3

To make someone confused and unable to understand

is the idea of being too difficult for someone to understand or solve
to bewilder
vsto beat
29 5.3

Make someone very confused and unable to think clearly

is specifically about something being too difficult to understand or solve
to mystify
vsto beat
28 6.5

To make someone confused by making something seem mysterious

focuses on sheer difficulty to understand or solve, not deliberate mystery
to confound
vsto beat
22 7.0

Make someone unable to think clearly

is the state of being too hard for someone to understand or solve
to dumbfound
vsto beat
17 7.0

To surprise someone so much that they cannot speak or answer

is about being too hard to understand or solve, not about surprise
to befuddle
vsto beat
11 7.8

To make someone very confused so they cannot think clearly

is about being too difficult to understand rather than just feeling muddled
to stupefy
vsto beat
9 7.9

To make someone unable to think or react after a very strong shock

focuses on difficulty in understanding or solving rather than shock effects
to flummox
vsto beat
7 8.6

To confuse someone so they do not know what to do or think

means the same difficulty but stresses being too hard to solve or understand
to vex
vsto beat
1 7.7

To confuse someone by making something hard to understand

is about being too hard to understand or solve, not emotional upset
to go over someone's head
vsto beat
  • Informal
1 8.1

To be too hard for someone to understand

shares being too hard but is specific to technical or abstract material
to nonplus
vsto beat
9.4

Surprise and confuse a person so they do not know what to do

is centered on challenge and incomprehension rather than sudden surprise

Antonyms

248 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

99 2.5

Make something easier to understand or use

Idioms

To succeed despite great difficulty or low chances

to beat to a pulp
  • Offensive
15 7.6

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt or win against them very clearly

To do something before someone else to get an advantage

on the beat
  • Literature
10 5.5

Working in one area, usually as a police officer or reporter

to skip a beat
  • Informal
9 6.1

To feel your heart stop for a moment because you are suddenly excited or scared

To finish something before the time runs out

To defeat someone by using their own methods

3 5.5

To act immediately and confidently without pausing

3 7.7

Win easily by a lot against another person or team

Search carefully in many places to find someone or something

To speak or act strongly to support a cause

to beat feet
  • Slang
2 9.0

To leave quickly to escape or avoid something

To move or act together at the same time in the same way

To work very hard or to threaten to hit someone

1 9.0

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt

to beat my brain
  • Informal
1 8.2

To think very hard to remember something or to solve a problem

to beat the band
  • Informal
1 8.9

To do something with great energy and excitement

To leave a place quickly to avoid danger or trouble

To do much better than people expected

Push away a lot of people or fans as a joke about being too popular

9.1

Show deep regret by hitting your chest and crying

to beat one's meat
  • Offensive
9.9

To touch his own penis to feel sexual pleasure

To change weapons into tools for peaceful work like farming

to beat the bishop
  • Offensive
9.9

To touch your own private parts to make yourself sexually excited

9.9

Get up very early before sunrise

9.9

A person or thing that looks very ugly, said as a joke

7.5

Always alert and ready to react to news and events

Phrasal Verbs

to beat up
  • Offensive
271 4.1

To attack someone by hitting them again and again to hurt them

53 9.9

To hurt or defeat someone very badly, often by hitting them

49 3.8

Defeat others in a contest to win a job or prize

17 5.6

To avoid saying what you mean directly

14 6.0

To force someone or something to move away

to beat on
  • Informal
13 5.0

To keep going despite difficulty or to make a steady sound like rain on a roof

4 3.9

To shine or fall very strongly on a place

2 3.6

Make a rhythm by hitting something repeatedly, like a drum

Arrive before most people to avoid large groups

to beat off
  • Informal
1 8.1

Make animals or people who attack you go away

1 9.9

To defeat someone completely, often physically or in a game, used in rude speech

to beat down
  • Informal
1 4.9

To get someone to sell something for a lower price

to beat in
  • Informal
1 7.2

To train someone by repeating something until they learn it

Speak strongly in public to support a person, idea, or cause

To hit someone or something very hard and damage it

to pound a beat
  • Informal
1 7.7

Play a loud, strong rhythm on a drum or instrument

7.4

Move around looking for something in a worried or confused way

To seem weak or not convincing next to something better

To win against other teams or companies in a contest

To remove dust from rugs by hitting or shaking them

9.6

Hit someone many times so they become badly hurt

Compounds

2 8.0

A group of American writers and artists from the 1950s who reject social rules and choose free creative lives

beat combo
  • Archaic
1 6.5

A small band that plays rhythm music for dancing

beat music
  • Archaic
1 4.0

A style of pop rock from 1960s Britain with strong rhythms and simple melodies

staccato beat
  • Specialized
1 6.1

Short, sharp musical sounds that have clear gaps between notes

type beat
  • Jargon
7.7

A music track made in the style of a popular artist

How Puzzling

to flummox
7 8.6
to beat
  • Informal
190 7.0
to confuse
266 1.9
to puzzle
73 4.9

Surface Forms

beat infinitive
beat past
beating present participle
beats third person singular
beaten past participle

Etymology

The phrase 'it beats me' uses beat like 'defeat'—if something 'beats' you, it wins against your understanding. So saying 'it beats me' means 'I can't understand or solve it'.