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to beat out

to beat out

49 3.8
Defeat others in a contest to win a job or prize
  • phrasal verb
  • /biːt aʊt/
translation icon : superar
  • She worked hard and finally beat out her competitors to win the scholarship.
  • beat out the competition
  • beat out competitors
  • beat out hopefuls

Trevor Berbick beat the fuck out of Muhammad Ali, right?

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Examples

  • NELSON: We beat out the five other teams.

  • Thank goodness Miguel Cabrera beat out Mike Trout for the American League MVP.

    Blog text (18)
  • Do you know how many candidates you beat out for your position?

  • John beat you out for starting guard, Chad.

  • Yeah, I beat out 70 other guys for this job.

  • The U.S., Germany, and Ireland beat out Greece and Sweden for the three available Western spots.

    Blog text (3)
  • And we have examples where significant candidates on the left or the right have beat out a centrist candidate.

  • Gabriella and I have had, like, five job interviews, but we keep getting beat out by college kids.

  • So does London, which handily beat out NYC for this summer's Olympic bid.

    Blog text (21)
  • Amazingly Brave Wilderness is now the most watched digital wilderness channel, beating out legacy brands like National Geographic.

Synonyms

to beat
vsto beat out
1.4

To defeat another person or team in a contest

is narrower, implying a small edge or speed rather than general victory
to defeat
vsto beat out
932 2.1

To beat someone in a game, fight, or contest

is about winning by a small margin or speed, not just any victory
to crush
vsto beat out
386 4.7

To defeat completely, often by force, ending a group or idea

is used for narrow marginal wins rather than overpowering dominance
to vanquish
vsto beat out
  • Formal
109 7.2

Beat someone or something completely in a conflict

is used for small, narrow wins rather than total destruction of an opponent
to get ahead
vsto beat out
83 3.4

Do better than others, for example at work or school

is about defeating in contests by a small margin, not just gaining position
to knock out
vsto beat out
46 3.4

To remove someone or something from a competition by defeating them

is for close winning margins rather than removing opponents from events
to sweep
vsto beat out
43 3.2

To win all games or contests in a competition

is for slight margins or small edges rather than total series domination
to whup
vsto beat out
  • Informal
33 8.6

To beat someone easily in a game or fight

is used for slight edges rather than complete domination or excess
to best
vsto beat out
23 4.2

To defeat someone in a contest or game

is often used for slight superiority rather than large or decisive wins
to outplay
vsto beat out
14 4.2

Do better than and beat an opponent in a game

is used for slight overall advantage rather than clear tactical superiority
to outscore
vsto beat out
14 3.4

To score more points than an opponent in a game

is used for narrow wins across situations, not only when points are counted
to trounce
vsto beat out
14 7.5

To beat an opponent by a large amount in a game or contest

is for small edges and speed rather than overwhelming victory
to kick-ass
vsto beat out
  • Offensive
11 8.7

To beat someone by a large amount in a contest or game

is for small or marginal superiority rather than large, overwhelming wins
to outmatch
vsto beat out
8 6.4

Do better than someone in skill or performance

is focused on slight, often speed based, advantage rather than clear superiority
to outclass
vsto beat out
8 4.6

To be much better than someone or something

is used for small edges or speed rather than overwhelming superiority
to clobber
vsto beat out
  • Informal
8 7.7

To beat someone completely in a game or fight

is about slight or marginal victory rather than thorough, crushing wins
to wipe the floor with
vsto beat out
  • Informal
8 7.5

To beat someone completely in a game or contest

is used for narrow or slight wins rather than humiliating, one sided victories
to beat the pants off
vsto beat out
  • Informal
3 7.7

Win easily by a lot against another person or team

is applied to close contests, not to easy, lopsided victories
to outcompete
vsto beat out
2 6.1

To do better than someone or something and win

is used for small margins in contests rather than broad superior performance
to outgain
vsto beat out
2 6.7

To gain more than someone else, especially in a competition

is about narrow victory by being slightly better or faster rather than larger gains
to outrace
vsto beat out
2 4.2

To move or run faster than someone in a race

is about winning by a small edge in general, not only literal speed
to outdraw
vsto beat out
1 6.7

To get more people or money than someone else

is about winning by slight performance or speed, not about attracting numbers
to beat the stuffing out of
vsto beat out
  • Offensive
1 9.0

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt

is about winning contests by small margin rather than using force or physical domination
to outsprint
vsto beat out
1 4.8

Run faster than another person in a race to finish ahead

is used for general victory by a small margin rather than speed only
to kick some tail
vsto beat out
  • Slang
1 8.8

Beat someone by a lot

is usually narrower, meaning a small edge rather than decisive victory
to pip to the post
vsto beat out
  • UK
9.2

Beat someone at the very last moment in a contest

is used for slight advantage across contests rather than a last moment win
to outvie
vsto beat out
  • Archaic
9.9

To try to be better than someone in a contest or task

is used for small wins in contests rather than continual rivalry efforts
to outrival
vsto beat out
7.9

Be better than someone or something in a competition

is about single contest victory by a small margin rather than long rivalry success
6.2

To win against other teams or companies in a contest

is used for narrow margins rather than general market or contest dominance
to score off
vsto beat out
  • UK
7.4

To get an advantage over someone by doing better than them

is used for small contest wins by slight margin, not only showing advantage
to overbeat
vsto beat out
4.9

Defeat an opponent easily in a game or contest

is used for slight advantages rather than easy or wide victories
to clean someone's clock
vsto beat out
  • Informal
9.3

Beat someone badly in a game or fight

is for slight or marginal victories rather than decisive or humiliating wins

Antonyms

1.0

Fail to win a game or contest

898 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

How Decisive

to annihilate
  • NSFW
63 7.5
to trounce
14 7.5
to beat
1.4
to beat out
49 3.8

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

beat + out

The MWE meaning is directly built from the verb sense 'beat' (to strike repeatedly) together with the particle 'out', which does not introduce an unpredictable idiomatic sense here; the phrase simply denotes producing sound by striking. This is a straightforward compositional action + particle pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the pertinent sense of 'beat' will readily understand the expression.

Etymology

Beat out comes from images of contests and races where one person would beat another out of first place by overtaking them and leaving them behind. So it now means 'to defeat' someone, often by being a little better or faster.