to beat off
1
8.1
- phrasal verb
- /biːt ɔf/
- Informal
:
repeler
- She knows I beat off constantly and she doesn't give a shit.
- the attack was beaten off
Examples
-
June 4, 1942: The U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown left, and the other fighting ships of a United States task force in the Pacific threw up an umbrella of anti-aircraft fire to beat off a squadron of Japanese torpedo planes attacking the carrier during the Battle of Midway.
Blog text (11) -
- No, you just watch us and beat off.
-
Because I beat off with it last night.
-
While Obama easily beat off the challenge from his Republican opponent Mitt Romney, holding swing states.
Blog text (6) -
Now in 1976, they are putting in a high-rise resort up by the ridge where they used to scramble through the laurel the best way they could and beat off the copperheads from the yard.
Fiction book (1990) -
Dohna because he had beaten off a surprise attack by a greatly superior force, Guise because he had beaten up the headquarters of the invading army and got away with prisoners, horses, and loot.
Academic text (1991) -
The soldiers managed to beat off the attackers with their superior training and tactics.
-
The homeowners worked together to beat off the swarm of wasps that had invaded their yard.
-
With quick thinking, the lifeguard was able to beat off the strong wave and save the struggling swimmer.
Synonyms
68
2.7
To make people or animals go away by frightening them
55
4.0
To stop an opponent from moving forward by keeping your position
51
3.7
To keep away an attack, illness, or strong unwanted feeling
34
4.4
To keep harmful or unpleasant things away from you
34
3.9
Keep unwanted people or things away so they do not harm you
21
4.2
Make someone or something move back and stay away, often by using force
14
6.0
To force someone or something to move away
6
3.3
Make someone or something leave a place by running after and frightening them
1
3.3
To make someone or something go away by making them afraid
1
7.9
An act of driving attackers back from a place
Push away a lot of people or fans as a joke about being too popular
Antonyms
How Successful
19
4.1
- Informal
1
8.1
34
3.9
41
3.6
5
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to repel or drive away' is directly derivable from combining 'beat' (to strike or drive out) with the particle 'off' (away/remove), which yields a common verb+particle sense of driving something away. This composition follows predictable English patterns (compare 'beat away', 'drive off') and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Beat off comes from the image of using your hand, a stick, or a coat to beat something off you and make it go away. That's why it means 'to repel or drive away' someone or something.