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Glite Dictionary
to beat the shit out of

to beat the shit out of

53 9.9
To hurt or defeat someone very badly, often by hitting them
  • phrasal verb
  • /biːt ðə ʃɪt aʊt ʌv/
  • Offensive
translation icon : dar una paliza a
  • Again, Jay and Bob pull the kid outside and beat the shit out of him.
  • go beat the shit out of someone
  • beat the shit out of a guy
  • fucking beat the shit out of someone

They beat the shit out of this man.

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Examples

  • Are we going to beat the shit out of this guy or what?

    Bully (2001)

  • You just beat the shit out of a fucking Olympian.

  • My father beat the shit out of me.

    Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

  • Looks like somebody beat the shit out of her.

    Phantoms (1998)

  • I sent you out, and then I started beating the shit out of this guy.

    Trouble with the Curve (2012)

  • Let's take him out back and beat the shit out of him.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • They beat the shit out of this man.

    The Basement Yard

  • Don't make me come over... ...and beat the shit out of you!

    Vampires (1998)

  • For two days and two fuckin' nights, we beat the shit out of this guy.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • He threatened to beat the shit out of anyone who tried to stop him.

Synonyms

to destroy
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Informal
557 1.7

Beat someone completely in a contest or game

is similar but stresses brutal physical attack and coarse tone
to punch
vsto beat the shit out of
455 1.4

To hit someone or something quickly with a closed fist

is larger in scale and uses rougher coarse wording about harm
to beat up
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
271 4.1

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

is more extreme and expresses coarser, very violent action
to assault
vsto beat the shit out of
126 4.7

To attack someone physically or try to hurt them

is more specific about extreme physical violence and crude tone
to vanquish
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Formal
109 7.2

Beat someone or something completely in a conflict

is more physical and far more graphically coarse in tone
to bashing
vsto beat the shit out of
  • NSFW
57 3.2

To hit something or someone hard and repeatedly

is more personally violent and expressed with strong coarse language
to kick someone's ass
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
45 9.0

To beat or punish someone very badly

is cruder and implies more extreme physical violence
to whip
vsto beat the shit out of
36 5.5

To beat someone easily by a large amount

is more about brutal physical beating and coarser informal speech
to rough up
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
35 7.3

To attack and hurt someone slightly to scare them

is tougher and implies more severe coarse physical harm
to whoop ass
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
16 9.9

To beat someone very badly in a fight or competition

is rougher and uses explicit coarse language about violence
to assail
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Formal
16 8.0

To attack violently, upset someone deeply or criticize them strongly

is more colloquial and emphasizes graphic physical violence
to beat to a pulp
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
15 7.6

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

adds stronger coarse intensity and a wider sense of total defeat
to kick-ass
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
11 8.7

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

is harsher and focuses on violent physical harm with coarse tone
to work over
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
8 8.4

To physically attack and beat someone to punish or threaten them

is more coarse and implies greater, indiscriminate physical violence
to clobber
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Informal
8 7.7

To beat someone completely in a game or fight

is more violent and expressed with strong coarse emphasis
to wipe the floor with
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Informal
8 7.5

To beat someone completely in a game or contest

is more physically violent and uses coarse informal language
to thrash
vsto beat the shit out of
  • NSFW
7 6.5

Hit someone hard, often as punishment or in a fight

is more extreme and carries a cruder, more violent tone
to beat the pants off
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Informal
3 7.7

Win easily by a lot against another person or team

is more coarse and suggests extreme physical beating
to beat the stuffing out of
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
1 9.0

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt

is harsher and uses coarser informal language about violence
to beat someone's brains out
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
1 9.4

To work very hard or to threaten to hit someone

is more explicitly coarse and focused on brutal physical assault
to beat someone's ass
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
1 9.9

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

is equally forceful but uses stronger coarse wording and emphasis
to beat the daylights out of
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
1 8.6

To hit someone or something very hard and damage it

is similarly brutal but more vulgar and emphatic in tone
to wallop
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Informal
1 6.7

To beat someone very easily and completely in a game or contest

is more physical and conveys extreme coarse violence
to smash someone's face in
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
1 9.8

Hit someone in the face very hard to hurt them

is similar but framed with cruder, more all-encompassing violence
to beat the poop out of
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
9.6

Hit someone many times so they become badly hurt

is even more extreme and marked by crude informal tone
to whupping
vsto beat the shit out of
  • NSFW
9.2

To beat someone badly in a fight or competition

is similar but carries cruder, more violent informal expression
to fuck someone upside down
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
9.9

Beat someone completely in a game or contest

is similarly vulgar but focuses more on violent physical attack
to smackdown
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Slang
8.4

To defeat someone completely in a contest or argument

is more physical and uses explicit violent coarse language
to knock the living daylights out of
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
9.9

To hit someone very hard or to shock someone very much

is equally shocking but uses rougher, more violent informal phrasing
to punch someone's lights out
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
9.8

Hit someone very hard so they are knocked out

is broader and more coarse, implying multiple severe attacks
to bash someone's face in
vsto beat the shit out of
  • NSFW
9.9

To hit someone's face very hard to hurt them

is more general violence with stronger coarse emphasis
to smash the head
vsto beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
8.8

Hit a person's head very hard and cause serious injury

is broader and uses coarser language to stress total beating

How Violent

to beat the shit out of
  • Offensive
53 9.9
to pummel
46 6.7
to punch
455 1.4
to hit
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

beat the shit out of infinitive
beat the shit out of past
beaten the shit out of past participle
beating the shit out of present participle
beats the shit out of third person singular

Morphology

beat + the + shit + out + of

The core sense of violently hitting someone is derivable from 'beat' (to hit) combined with 'out' (completely/unconscious), so a learner who knows those words can infer a severe physical attack. However, 'the shit' here is a vulgar intensifier rather than a literal noun, an idiomatic use that B1 learners may not predict, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Beat the shit out of paints a strong, rude image: beat means to hit and shit is used here to show doing it completely and with force. One popular way to see it is hitting someone so hard they are badly hurt or clearly defeated, so it now means 'to attack someone very violently' or 'to defeat someone completely'.