to beat feet
2
9.0
- idiom
- Slang
:
salir corriendo
- Beat feet, Uncle Hector.
Examples
-
When the storm approached, we knew we had to beat feet to the safety of our car.
-
Okay, well then beat feet, man.
-
We gotta beat feet!
-
- Let's beat feet.
-
Caitlin beats feet, vanishes into the smoke.
Fiction book (1996) -
The FW who was assaulted also told me on the phone that paddywagons were headed in our direction; several of us decided that it was a good time to beat feet and leave.
Blog text (27) -
As soon as he heard the sirens, he decided it was time to beat feet before anyone noticed him.
-
The party started to get out of hand, so we quickly beat feet to avoid any trouble.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To move a boat fast in the same direction as the wind
550
1.6
To leave secretly and quickly to get away from danger or control
331
2.4
To run away from a place because it is dangerous
260
3.7
To leave a place or person suddenly, often without saying goodbye
78
2.0
Leave a place suddenly, often to avoid someone or something
69
2.3
To run away suddenly to escape danger
36
5.3
To try to escape quickly, often by running
18
8.3
To leave a place very quickly to escape danger or trouble
16
8.4
To leave a place quickly to avoid trouble or danger
14
9.3
To run away quickly because you are afraid
9
6.5
To hurry when someone tells you to
7
7.0
To run away quickly because you are afraid
7
5.6
To leave a place quickly to escape danger or trouble
5
5.8
To leave a place suddenly and unexpectedly
5
4.9
Leave a place suddenly and quickly because you feel scared
5
7.2
Leave quickly to go somewhere or to avoid trouble
5
8.0
To leave a place very quickly to avoid danger or trouble
4
7.8
To run away quickly to escape danger
2
2.5
Leave a place quickly because you are in a hurry
1
7.7
To move quickly on foot
1
9.0
Move quickly on foot to escape or reach a place fast
1
7.1
Move away quickly to avoid something you are afraid of
1
6.0
To leave a place quickly to avoid danger or trouble
1
6.1
Run away quickly to escape danger or trouble
1
7.2
To run or move very quickly without control
To run away quickly, usually because you are afraid
Run away quickly to avoid danger or trouble
To run away quickly to avoid being caught
To run away quickly, usually because you are afraid
Antonyms
How Fast
20
3.8
- Informal
260
3.7
- Slang
2
9.0
∞
1.0
632
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
beat + foot
The phrase evokes a bodily-motion image—'beat' + 'feet' suggests rapid movement of the feet—so a learner who knows the parts could plausibly infer a sense of moving quickly. However, the idiomatic sense 'leave or run away quickly' and its informal/colloquial usage are not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure is usually needed for precise interpretation.
Etymology
Beat feet comes from the picture of someone stamping the ground with their feet, where beat and feet together show quick movement. That's why it means 'to leave quickly' or 'run away'.