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Glite Dictionary
☀️ To shine strongly 💸 To lower price
to beat down

to beat down

4 3.9
To shine or fall very strongly on a place
  • phrasal verb
  • /biːt daʊn/
translation icon : caer con fuerza
  • The sun beat down on Jesse's back as he bent over a little wire cage.
  • sun beating down
  • rain beats down
  • sunshine beating down

So tomatoes, tomatoes love those nice warm nights because the sun beats down on the soil, warms that soil up.

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Examples

  • The sun beat down on the beach, making it the perfect day for a swim.

  • The blazing noonday sun beat down mercilessly on the blood-soaked sand of the arena.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I came home because the sun was beating down on me and went to bed without breakfast.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The warm sun was beating down on the whole lot of them.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The sun is beating down on my back, and the water feels good.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The time was afternoon, but the sun was beating down mercilessly.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The sun is scorching even more than yesterday, beating down even through the headscarf.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Above him, the sun beat down, and he felt a trickle of sweat slide down his cheek.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Outside, the sunlight beat down on the lawn, already parched by the scanty spring rains.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • During the heatwave, the sun continued to beat down relentlessly on the city streets.

Synonyms

to come down heavily
vsto beat down
3.4

Rain that falls very hard

also applies to strong sunlight and other direct weather effects
to come down in stair rods
vsto beat down
  • Archaic
9.9

To rain very heavily

is broader, covering strong sunlight as well as heavy precipitation

Antonyms

to fade
531 1.2

To slowly become less visible, bright, or loud

to diminish
201 3.7

To become less in size, importance, or value

How Strong

to pound
225 1.3
to beat down
4 3.9
to rain
541 1.0
to drizzle
7 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

beat + down

The sense ‘shine/fall very strongly’ can be related to 'beat' (to strike) combined with 'down' (toward a lower direction): the sun or rain is metaphorically ‘striking down’ on something, so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer the meaning. However, this requires a metaphorical mapping from physical striking to weather intensity rather than a purely literal composition, so comprehension is likely partial and depends on exposure to this usage.

Etymology

Beat down for weather gives the image of sun or rain hitting things hard. Picture the sun beating on your head as it comes down, so it means 'to shine or fall very strongly and directly'.