beat

How to use beat in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for beat.

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Editorial note

I reduced it two times more by $1, and each time they beat my price by a cent or two.

Examples6

Definitions34

Parts of speech3

Quick take

a regular route for a sentry or policeman; "in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name"

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of beat gathered in one view.

noun

a regular route for a sentry or policeman; "in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name"

noun

the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart"

noun

the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music; "the piece has a fast rhythm"; "the conductor set the beat"

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for beat.

noun

a regular route for a sentry or policeman; "in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name"

noun

the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart"

noun

the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music; "the piece has a fast rhythm"; "the conductor set the beat"

noun

a single pulsation of an oscillation produced by adding two waves of different frequencies; has a frequency equal to the difference between the two oscillations

noun

a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior

noun

the sound of stroke or blow; "he heard the beat of a drum"

noun

(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse

See also: meter, metre, measure, cadence

noun

a regular rate of repetition; "the cox raised the beat"

noun

a stroke or blow; "the signal was two beats on the steam pipe"

noun

the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

verb

come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"

See also: crush, shell, trounce, vanquish

verb

give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression; "Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night"; "The teacher used to beat the students"

verb

hit repeatedly; "beat on the door"; "beat the table with his shoe"

verb

move rhythmically; "Her heart was beating fast"

verb

shape by beating; "beat swords into ploughshares"

verb

make a rhythmic sound; "Rain drummed against the windshield"; "The drums beat all night"

verb

glare or strike with great intensity; "The sun was beating down on us"

verb

move with a thrashing motion; "The bird flapped its wings"; "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky"

verb

sail with much tacking or with difficulty; "The boat beat in the strong wind"

verb

stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream"

verb

strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music; "beat one's breast"; "beat one's foot rhythmically"

verb

be superior; "Reading beats watching television"; "This sure beats work!"

verb

avoid paying; "beat the subway fare"

verb

make a sound like a clock or a timer; "the clocks were ticking"; "the grandfather clock beat midnight"

verb

move with a flapping motion; "The bird's wings were flapping"

verb

indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks; "Beat the rhythm"

verb

move with or as if with a regular alternating motion; "the city pulsated with music and excitement"

verb

make by pounding or trampling; "beat a path through the forest"

verb

produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly; "beat the drum"

verb

strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting

verb

beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She outfoxed her competitors"

See also: outwit, overreach, outsmart, outfox, circumvent

verb

be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me"

See also: perplex, vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, pose, bewilder

verb

wear out completely; "This kind of work exhausts me"; "I'm beat"; "He was all washed up after the exam"

adjective

very tired; "was all in at the end of the day"; "so beat I could flop down and go to sleep anywhere"; "bushed after all that exercise"; "I'm dead after that long trip"

Example sentences

I reduced it two times more by $1, and each time they beat my price by a cent or two.

No matter how hard or long you worked, he could beat you at that metric without breaking a sweat.

But I have acquired the skills, knowledge, and support network that I know, without a doubt, I would be able to beat it back down again.

Pirates don't only beat the legit industry on price, they beat them on quality and availability.

Police are pretty obviously not policing neighborhoods and aren't on the beat--they're chaotic actors who get involved and always always always make things worse.

These messages occurred at about the same time we saw everyone getting hammered over credit-card debt, and heard the Republicans chest-beating over sound fiscal policy.