to beat
- verb
- /biːt/
- Informal
- 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?
- Because for many people it is very challenging to beat their biology, right?
- And we can essentially prove that these equations cannot be beaten in any simple way.
- I can show how to beat that what causes depression.
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
Make someone unable to think clearly or make something hard to understand
To make someone feel confused when something is hard to understand
To make someone very confused and unable to understand
Be impossible to explain or understand
To make someone unable to answer a question
To make someone confused and unable to understand
Make someone very confused and unable to think clearly
To make someone confused by making something seem mysterious
Make someone unable to think clearly
To surprise someone so much that they cannot speak or answer
To make someone very confused so they cannot think clearly
To make someone unable to think or react after a very strong shock
To confuse someone so they do not know what to do or think
To confuse someone by making something hard to understand
To be too hard for someone to understand
Surprise and confuse a person so they do not know what to do
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 Puzzling
Surface Forms
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'.