beat Meaning & Definition
What Does Beat Mean?
As a noun, beat means A stroke; a blow. It is also used to mean A pulsation or throb. As a verb, it means To hit; to strike. As a verb, it means simple past tense of beat.
Word Facts for Beat
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | //biːt// |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | thrum, scramble and dead |
| Plural | beats |
| Comparative / superlative | more beat, most beat |
Beat Definition (Noun)
- A stroke; a blow.
- A pulsation or throb.
a beat of the heart
- A pulse on the beat level, the metric level at which pulses are heard as the basic unit. Thus a beat is the basic time unit of a piece.
- A rhythm.
I love watching her dance to a pretty drum beat with a bouncy rhythm!
- The rhythm signalled by a conductor or other musician to the members of a group of musicians.
- The instrumental portion of a piece of hip-hop music.
- The interference between two tones of almost equal frequency.
- A short pause in a play, screenplay, or teleplay, for dramatic or comedic effect.
- An area of a person's responsibility, especially
The route patrolled by a police officer or a guard.
to walk the beat
- The route patrolled by a police officer or a guard.
to walk the beat
- The primary focus of a reporter's stories (such as police/courts, education, city government, business etc.).
- An act of reporting news or scientific results before a rival; a scoop.
- That which beats, or surpasses, another or others.
the beat of him
- A precinct.
- A place of habitual or frequent resort. An area frequented by gay men in search of sexual activity. See gay beat.
- An area frequented by gay men in search of sexual activity. See gay beat.
- A low cheat or swindler.
a dead beat
- The act of scouring, or ranging over, a tract of land to rouse or drive out game; also, those so engaged, collectively.
- A smart tap on the adversary's blade.
- A makeup look; compare beat one's face.
Beat as a Verb
- To hit; to strike.
As soon as she heard that her father had died, she went into a rage and beat the wall with her fists until her knuckles bled.
- To strike or pound repeatedly, usually in some sort of rhythm.
He danced hypnotically while she beat the atabaque.
- To strike repeatedly; to inflict repeated blows; to knock vigorously or loudly.
- To move with pulsation or throbbing.
- To win against; to defeat or overcome; to do or be better than (someone); to excel in a particular, competitive event.
Jan had little trouble beating John in tennis. He lost five games in a row.
- To sail to windward using a series of alternate tacks across the wind.
- To strike (water, foliage etc.) in order to drive out game; to travel through (a forest etc.) for hunting.
- To mix food in a rapid fashion. Compare whip.
Beat the eggs and whip the cream.
- To persuade the seller to reduce a price.
He wanted $50 for it, but I managed to beat him down to $35.
- To indicate by beating or drumming.
to beat a retreat; to beat to quarters
- To tread, as a path.
- To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble.
- To be in agitation or doubt.
- To make a sound when struck.
The drums beat.
- To make a succession of strokes on a drum.
The drummers beat to call soldiers to their quarters.
- To sound with more or less rapid alternations of greater and lesser intensity, so as to produce a pulsating effect; said of instruments, tones, or vibrations not perfectly in unison.
- To arrive at a place before someone.
He beat me there.
- To have sexual intercourse.
Bruv, she came in just as we started to beat.
- To rob; to cheat or scam.
He beat me out of 12 bucks last night.
Verb
- simple past tense of beat
- past participle of beat
Beat as an Adjective
- Exhausted.
After the long day, she was feeling completely beat.
- Dilapidated, beat up.
Dude, you drive a beat car like that and you ain’t gonna get no honeys.
- Having impressively attractive makeup.
Her face was beat for the gods!
- Boring.
- Ugly.
Noun
- A beatnik.
Adjective
- Relating to the Beat Generation.
beat poetry
Noun
- (authorship) A short pause in a play, screenplay, or teleplay, for dramatic or comedic effect; a plot point or story development.
- (by extension) An area of a person's responsibility, especially
- A place of habitual or frequent resort.
Verb
- To hit; strike
As soon as she heard that her father had died, she went into a rage and beat the wall with her fists until her knuckles bled.
- To win against; to defeat or overcome; to do better than, outdo, or excel (someone) in a particular, competitive event.
I just can't seem to beat the last level of this video game.
- (In haggling for a price) of a buyer, to persuade the seller to reduce a price
He wanted $50 for it, but I managed to beat him down to $35.
- To sound with more or less rapid alternations of greater and less intensity, so as to produce a pulsating effect; said of instruments, tones, or vibrations, not perfectly in unison.
- To rob.
He beat me out of 12 bucks last night.
Adjective
- Fabulous
Her makeup was beat!
- (of a person) ugly
Synonyms of Beat
Antonyms of Beat
No antonyms or near antonyms are listed by the available sources for this entry.
Beat in a Sentence
a beat of the heart
the beat of the pulse
I love watching her dance to a pretty drum beat with a bouncy rhythm!
to walk the beat
the beat of him
a dead beat
As soon as she heard that her father had died, she went into a rage and beat the wall with her fists until her knuckles bled.
He danced hypnotically while she beat the atabaque.
Jan had little trouble beating John in tennis. He lost five games in a row.
No matter how quickly Joe finished his test, Roger always beat him.
I just can't seem to beat the last level of this video game.
Beat the eggs and whip the cream.
He wanted $50 for it, but I managed to beat him down to $35.
to beat a retreat; to beat to quarters
The drums beat.
The drummers beat to call soldiers to their quarters.
He beat me there.
The place is empty; we beat the crowd of people who come at lunch.
Bruv, she came in just as we started to beat.
He beat me out of 12 bucks last night.
I already beat him, but he hasn't realized it yet.
After the long day, she was feeling completely beat.
Dude, you drive a beat car like that and you ain’t gonna get no honeys.
Her face was beat for the gods!
beat poetry
a beat of the heart; the beat of the pulse
Her makeup was beat!
Word Forms & Grammar
beat (plural beats)
beat (third-person singular simple present beats, present participle beating, simple past beat or (nonstandard) beated, past participle beaten or (colloquial) beat or (nonstandard) beated)
beat
beat (comparative more beat, superlative most beat)
Words That Rhyme With Beat
Origin of Beat
Origin 1: Inherited from Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan (“to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push, strike”).
Origin 2: From Middle English bet (simple past of beten "to beat"), from Old English bēot (simple past of bēatan "to beat"). Middle English bet would regularly yield *beet; the modern form is influenced by the present stem and the past participle beaten, perhaps by analogy with the Early Modern English paradigm eat:eat (“ate”):eaten. Pronunciations with /ɛ/ (from Middle English bette, alternative simple past of beten) are possibly analogous to read (/ɹɛd/), led, met, etc.[1]
Origin 3: From beatnik, or beat generation.[2]
Beat Pronunciation
Beat is pronounced //biːt// and has 1 syllable.
Quick Answers About Beat
Is beat a noun or a verb?
Beat is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb and an adjective.
What is another word for beat?
You can replace beat with words such as thrum, scramble and dead. See the full list of beat synonyms and antonyms.
What is the plural of beat?
The plural of beat is beats.
What are the comparative and superlative forms of beat?
The comparative form is more beat and the superlative form is most beat.