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[beet] /bit/
to strike violently or forcefully and repeatedly.
to dash against:
rain beating the trees.
to flutter, flap, or rotate in or against:
beating the air with its wings.
to sound, as on a drum:
beating a steady rhythm; to beat a tattoo.
to stir vigorously:
Beat the egg whites well.
to break, forge, or make by blows:
to beat their swords into plowshares.
I'll beat some sense into him.
to make (a path) by repeated treading.
to strike (a person or animal) repeatedly and injuriously:
Some of the hoodlums beat their victims viciously before robbing them.
to overcome in a contest; defeat.
to win over in a race:
We beat the English challenger to Bermuda.
to be superior to:
Making reservations beats waiting in line.
to be incomprehensible to; baffle:
It beats me how he got the job.
It beats me how to get her to understand.
to mitigate or offset the effects of:
He beat him out of hundreds of dollars on that deal.
to escape or avoid (blame or punishment).
to strike repeated blows; pound.
to throb or pulsate:
His heart began to beat faster.
rain beating against the windows.
to resound under blows, as a drum.
to achieve victory in a contest; win:
Which team do you think will beat?
to play, as on a drum.
to scour cover for game.
Physics. to make a beat or beats.
This cream won't beat.
Nautical. to tack to windward by sailing close-hauled.
a stroke or blow.
the sound made by one or more such blows:
the beat of drums.
a throb or pulsation:
a pulse of 60 beats per minute.
the ticking sound made by a clock or watch escapement.
one's assigned or regular path or habitual round:
a policeman's beat.
  1. the audible, visual, or mental marking of the metrical divisions of music.
Wait four beats and then pick up the phone.
  2. Also called newsbeat, run. the particular news source or activity that a reporter is responsible for covering.
a subdivision of a county, as in Mississippi.
(often initial capital letter) Informal. beatnik.
Informal. exhausted; worn out.
Verb phrases
beat about,
  1. to search through; scour:
  2. Nautical. to tack into the wind.
beat back, to force back; compel to withdraw:
to beat back an attacker.
beat down,
  1. to bring into subjection; subdue.
  2. Informal. to persuade (a seller) to lower the price of something:
beat off,
  1. to ward off; repulse:
    We had to beat off clouds of mosquitoes.
  2. Slang: Vulgar. to masturbate.
beat out,
  1. Informal. to defeat; win or be chosen over:
    to beat out the competition.
  2. Carpentry. to cut (a mortise).
  3. to produce hurriedly, especially by writing or typing:
    He beat out a weak grounder to third.
beat up,
  1. Also, beat up on. to strike repeatedly so as to cause painful injury; thrash:
  2. British Informal. to find or gather; scare up:
beat a retreat. retreat (def 12).
beat it, Informal. to depart; go away:
beat the air / wind, to make repeated futile attempts.
beat the rap. rap1 (def 17).
He protested that nonobjective art was off his beat.
on the beat, in the correct rhythm or tempo:
Related forms
beatable, adjective
overbeat, verb, overbeat, overbeaten or overbeat, overbeating.
underbeat, noun
Can be confused
beat, beet (see synonym study at the current entry)
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British Dictionary definitions for beat about


verb beats, beating, beat, beaten, beat
when intr, often foll by against, on, etc. to strike with or as if with a series of violent blows; dash or pound repeatedly (against)
(transitive) to punish by striking; flog
(intransitive) to throb rhythmically; pulsate: her heart beat fast
(cookery) (transitive) sometimes foll by up. to stir or whisk (an ingredient or mixture) vigorously
(transitive) sometimes foll by out. to shape, make thin, or flatten (a piece of metal) by repeated blows
(transitive) (music) to indicate (time) by the motion of one's hand, baton, etc, or by the action of a metronome
when tr, sometimes foll by out. to produce (a sound or signal) by or as if by striking a drum
(transitive; often foll by back, down, off etc) to drive, push, or thrust
(transitive) to form (a path or track) by repeatedly walking or riding over it
(transitive) (slang) to puzzle or baffle: it beats me how he can do that
(intransitive) (physics) (of sounds or electrical signals) to combine and produce a pulsating sound or signal
(intransitive) (nautical) to steer a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
(transitive) (slang, mainly US) to cheat or defraud: he beat his brother out of the inheritance
beat about the bush, to avoid the point at issue; prevaricate
beat a retreat, to withdraw or depart in haste
(slang) (often imperative) beat it, to go away
beat one's breast, See breast (sense 10)
(slang) beat someone's brains out, to kill by knocking severely about the head
(informal) beat someone to it, to reach a place or achieve an objective before someone else
(Brit) beat the bounds, (formerly) to define the boundaries of a parish by making a procession around them and hitting the ground with rods
(slang) can you beat it?, can you beat that?, an expression of utter amazement or surprise
a stroke or blow
the sound made by a stroke or blow
a regular sound or stroke; throb
  1. an assigned or habitual round or route, as of a policeman or sentry
  2. (as modifier): beat police officers
  1. pop or rock music characterized by a heavy rhythmic beat
  2. (as modifier): a beat group
(physics) the low regular frequency produced by combining two sounds or electrical signals that have similar frequencies
(horology) the impulse given to the balance wheel by the action of the escapement
(prosody) the accent, stress, or ictus in a metrical foot
(nautical) a course that steers a sailing vessel as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
  1. the act of scouring for game by beating
  2. the organized scouring of a particular woodland so as to rouse the game in it
  3. the woodland where game is so roused
short for beatnik
(fencing) a sharp tap with one's blade on an opponent's blade to deflect it
(modifier, often capital) of, characterized by, or relating to the Beat Generation: a beat poet, beat philosophy
(postpositive) (slang) totally exhausted
See also beat down, beat up
Derived Forms
beatable, adjective
Word Origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for beat about







Earlier in music it meant a sort of grace note:



Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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beat about in Medicine

beat (bēt)
v. beat, beat·en (bēt'n), beat·ing, beats

  1. To strike repeatedly.

  2. To pulsate; throb.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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beat about in Science
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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Slang definitions & phrases for beat about


  1. Very tired; all in, pooped: You have been on the go right around the clock. You look beat (1830s+)
  2. Alienated from the general society and expressing this by a wandering life, the avoidance of work, the advocacy of sexual freedom, the use of narcotics, a distinctive style of dress and grooming, and the adoption of certain aspects of Far Eastern religions: the beat generation/ beat poets (1950s+ Beat talk)
  3. Boring; stupid; lame (1980s+ Teenagers)

: anything I knew that I hadn't told the beat man at the news conference

  1. A loafer; drifter; deadbeat, moocher (mid-1800s+)
  2. News printed or broadcast first, before one's competitors; scoop: The News scored an important beat (1900+ News media)
  3. The area or subject matter that one is assigned to handle: cop on his beat/ a reporter on the courthouse beat (1700s+)
  4. The asi meter of a piece of music, esp the insistent percussive rhythm of some jazz styles and rock and roll (1930s+)
  5. beatnik
  6. A short pause; heartbeat: I waited a beat, then started for the garage/ It may take a couple of beats to absorb the shock of this new length (1950s+ Theater)
  1. To baffle; nonplus: It beats me how she can do so much (1830s+)
  2. To avoid a fine or conviction: He beat the burglary rap (1920s+ Underworld)
  3. To rob or defraud: I sure got beat when I bought that old clunker (1850+)
Related Terms

downbeat, offbeat, upbeat

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Idioms and Phrases with beat about
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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