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BEAT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: beaten
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
sailing (riding in a sailboat)
Derivation:
beat (sail with much tacking or with difficulty)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A stroke or blow
Example:
the signal was two beats on the steam pipe
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
stroke (a single complete movement)
Derivation:
beat (hit repeatedly)
beat (shape by beating)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A regular rate of repetition
Example:
the cox raised the beat
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
pace; rate (the relative speed of progress or change)
Derivation:
beat (move with a thrashing motion)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
Example:
the conductor set the beat
Synonyms:
beat; musical rhythm; rhythm
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
musical time ((music) the beat of musical rhythm)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beat"):
backbeat (a loud steady beat)
downbeat (the first beat of a musical measure (as the conductor's arm moves downward))
offbeat; upbeat (an unaccented beat (especially the last beat of a measure))
syncopation (a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat)
Derivation:
beat (strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music)
beat (produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly)
beat (move rhythmically)
beat (indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks)
beat (make a rhythmic sound)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
Synonyms:
beat; cadence; measure; meter; metre
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
poetic rhythm; prosody; rhythmic pattern ((prosody) a system of versification)
Domain category:
metrics; prosody (the study of poetic meter and the art of versification)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beat"):
catalexis (the absence of a syllable in the last foot of a line or verse)
scansion (analysis of verse into metrical patterns)
common measure; common meter (the usual (iambic) meter of a ballad)
foot; metrical foot; metrical unit ((prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm)
Sense 6
Meaning:
The sound of stroke or blow
Example:
he heard the beat of a drum
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)
Derivation:
beat (hit repeatedly)
beat (make a sound like a clock or a timer)
Sense 7
Meaning:
The rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart
Example:
he could feel the beat of her heart
Synonyms:
beat; heartbeat; pulsation; pulse
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
periodic event; recurrent event (an event that recurs at intervals)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beat"):
diastole (the widening of the chambers of the heart between two contractions when the chambers fill with blood)
systole (the contraction of the chambers of the heart (especially the ventricles) to drive blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery)
pounding; throb; throbbing (an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart))
Derivation:
beat (move rhythmically)
Sense 8
Meaning:
A regular route for a sentry or policeman
Example:
in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name
Synonyms:
beat; round
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
itinerary; path; route (an established line of travel or access)
Sense 9
Meaning:
A member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior
Synonyms:
beat; beatnik
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
nonconformist; recusant (someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct)
Holonyms ("beat" is a member of...):
beat generation; beatniks; beats (a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop))
Sense 10
Meaning:
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
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
oscillation; vibration ((physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Very tired
Example:
I'm dead after that long trip
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
tired (depleted of strength or energy)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they beat ... he / she / it beats
Past simple: beat
Past participle: beaten
-ing form: beating
Sense 1
Meaning:
Wear out completely
Example:
He was all washed up after the exam
Synonyms:
beat; exhaust; tucker; tucker out; wash up
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
fag; fag out; fatigue; jade; outwear; tire; tire out; wear; wear down; wear out; wear upon; weary (exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
kill (tire out completely)
play (exhaust by allowing to pull on the line)
frazzle (exhaust physically or emotionally)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sense 2
Meaning:
Be a mystery or bewildering to
Example:
This question really stuck me
Synonyms:
amaze; baffle; beat; bewilder; dumbfound; flummox; get; gravel; mystify; nonplus; perplex; pose; puzzle; stick; stupefy; vex
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
bedevil; befuddle; confound; confuse; discombobulate; fox; fuddle; throw (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
mix up; stump (cause to be perplexed or confounded)
riddle (set a difficult problem or riddle)
elude; escape (be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s somebody
Sense 3
Meaning:
Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
Example:
Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game
Synonyms:
beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
defeat; get the better of; overcome (win a victory over)
"Beat" entails doing...:
win (be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious)
Verb group:
beat; circumvent; outfox; outsmart; outwit; overreach (beat through cleverness and wit)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
bat; clobber; cream; drub; lick; thrash (beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight)
outplay (excel or defeat in a game)
immobilise; immobilize (make defenseless)
checkmate; mate (place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game)
overmaster; overpower; overwhelm (overcome by superior force)
outfight (to fight better than; get the better of)
best; outdo; outflank; scoop; trump (get the better of)
get over; master; overcome; subdue; surmount (get on top of; deal with successfully)
exceed; outdo; outgo; outmatch; outperform; outstrip; surmount; surpass (be or do something to a greater degree)
cheat; chicane; chouse; jockey; screw; shaft (defeat someone through trickery or deceit)
get the jump (be there first)
rout; spread-eagle; spreadeagle (defeat disastrously)
get the best; have the best; overcome (overcome, usually through no fault or weakness of the person that is overcome)
whomp (beat overwhelmingly)
mop up; pip; rack up; whip; worst (defeat thoroughly)
eliminate (remove from a contest or race)
walk over (beat easily)
outpoint; outscore (score more points than one's opponents)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sentence example:
The fighter managed to beat his opponent
Derivation:
beatable (susceptible to being defeated)
beating (the act of overcoming or outdoing)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Beat through cleverness and wit
Example:
She outfoxed her competitors
Synonyms:
beat; circumvent; outfox; outsmart; outwit; overreach
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
exceed; outdo; outgo; outmatch; outperform; outstrip; surmount; surpass (be or do something to a greater degree)
Verb group:
beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish (come out better in a competition, race, or conflict)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
beatable (susceptible to being defeated)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression
Example:
The teacher used to beat the students
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
"Beat" entails doing...:
hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
larrup; paddle; spank (give a spanking to; subject to a spanking)
baste; batter; clobber (strike violently and repeatedly)
flail; lam; thrash; thresh (give a thrashing to; beat hard)
kayo; knock cold; knock out (knock unconscious or senseless)
cane; flog; lambast; lambaste (beat with a cane)
flog; lash; lather; slash; strap; trounce; welt; whip (beat severely with a whip or rod)
rough up (treat violently)
belabor; belabour (beat soundly)
pistol-whip (beat with a pistol)
soak (beat severely)
strong-arm (use physical force against)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sentence example:
They want to beat the prisoners
Derivation:
beating (the act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Hit repeatedly
Example:
beat the table with his shoe
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
strike (deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon)
Verb group:
beat (strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
hammer (beat with or as if with a hammer)
thrash; thresh (beat the seeds out of a grain)
paste (hit with the fists)
whang (beat with force)
coldcock; deck; dump; floor; knock down (knock down with force)
bastinado (beat somebody on the soles of the feet)
beetle (beat with a beetle)
beat (strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting)
full (beat for the purpose of cleaning and thickening)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Derivation:
beat (a stroke or blow)
beat (the sound of stroke or blow)
beater (an implement for beating)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
beat (hit repeatedly)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 8
Meaning:
Strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music
Example:
beat one's foot rhythmically
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
strike (deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon)
Verb group:
beat (hit repeatedly)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
beat (the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Stir vigorously
Example:
beat the cream
Synonyms:
beat; scramble
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
agitate; commove; disturb; raise up; shake up; stir up; vex (change the arrangement or position of)
Domain category:
cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
whip; whisk (whip with or as if with a wire whisk)
cream (make creamy by beating)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
beater (an implement for beating)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Shape by beating
Example:
beat swords into ploughshares
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
forge; form; mold; mould; shape; work (make something, usually for a specific function)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
forge; hammer (create by hammering)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sentence example:
The chef wants to beat the eggs
Derivation:
beat (a stroke or blow)
Sense 11
Meaning:
Produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly
Example:
beat the drum
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
play (perform music on (a musical instrument))
Verb group:
beat (indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks)
Domain category:
music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
beat (the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Make by pounding or trampling
Example:
beat a path through the forest
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
create; make (make or cause to be or to become)
"Beat" entails doing...:
trample; tread (tread or stomp heavily or roughly)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 13
Meaning:
Move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
Example:
the city pulsated with music and excitement
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Verb group:
pulsate; pulse; throb (expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 14
Meaning:
Move rhythmically
Example:
Her heart was beating fast
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Verb group:
beat (indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
flap (move noisily)
thrash (beat so fast that (the heart's) output starts dropping until (it) does not manage to pump out blood at all)
flutter; palpitate (beat rapidly)
pulsate; pulse; throb (expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Derivation:
beat (the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music)
beat (the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart)
Sense 15
Meaning:
Indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks
Example:
Beat the rhythm
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Verb group:
beat (produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly)
beat; pound; thump (move rhythmically)
beat; drum; thrum (make a rhythmic sound)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
beat out; tap out; thump out (beat out a rhythm)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
Derivation:
beat (the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music)
Sense 16
Meaning:
Sail with much tacking or with difficulty
Example:
The boat beat in the strong wind
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
sail (travel on water propelled by wind)
Domain category:
navigation; pilotage; piloting (the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Derivation:
beat (the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing)
Sense 17
Meaning:
Move with a flapping motion
Example:
The bird's wings were flapping
Synonyms:
beat; flap
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Verb group:
beat; flap (move with a thrashing motion)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
flail; thresh (move like a flail; thresh about)
clap (strike the air in flight)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 18
Meaning:
Move with a thrashing motion
Example:
The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky
Synonyms:
beat; flap
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)
Verb group:
beat; flap (move with a flapping motion)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
flutter (flap the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements)
bate (flap the wings wildly or frantically; used of falcons)
clap (cause to strike the air in flight)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Derivation:
beat (a regular rate of repetition)
Sense 19
Meaning:
Glare or strike with great intensity
Example:
The sun was beating down on us
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
glare (shine intensely)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 20
Meaning:
Make a rhythmic sound
Example:
The drums beat all night
Synonyms:
beat; drum; thrum
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)
Verb group:
beat (indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Derivation:
beat (the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music)
Sense 21
Meaning:
Make a sound like a clock or a timer
Example:
the grandfather clock beat midnight
Synonyms:
beat; tick; ticktack; ticktock
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
beat (the sound of stroke or blow)
Sense 22
Meaning:
Avoid paying
Example:
beat the subway fare
Synonyms:
beat; bunk
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
cheat; chisel; rip off (deprive somebody of something by deceit)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 23
Meaning:
Be superior
Example:
This sure beats work!
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Context examples:
His thin, thought-worn features and sunken, haggard cheeks bespoke one who had indeed beaten down that inner foe whom every man must face, but had none the less suffered sorely in the contest.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"Some day I'll beat the face off of him," was the way he often consoled himself for enduring the man's existence.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Researchers say they’ve grown beating human heart cells on spinach leaves, using the vascular network of the plant to transport fluids.
(Human Heart Cells Grown on Spinach Leaves, VOA News)
The reason: Horses have been beating pandas to the bamboo buffet.
(Belly up to the bamboo buffet: Pandas vs. horses, NSF)
"That generation of singled-tailed bots used cardiac tissue that beats on its own, but they could not sense the environment nor make any decisions."
(Researchers build microscopic biohybrid robots propelled by muscles, nerves, National Science Foundation)
Each individual heart cell, known as a cardiomyocyte, contains contractile units called sarcomeres that power its beating.
(Microtubules’ role in heart cell contraction revealed, NIH)
Some single-celled creatures have structures called motile cilia that beat rhythmically to allow the cells to move.
(Protein critical to cilia development, NIH)
Blood pressure is taken using two measurements: systolic (measured when the heart beats, when blood pressure is at its highest) and diastolic (measured between heart beats, when blood pressure is at its lowest).
(Blood pressure, NCI Dictionary)
He also commented on the future, This is only the beginning and I am very lucky to win (...) It's deserved but in the future these guys will be tougher to beat.
(Norway's Warholm wins gold in 400 m hurdles at World Championships in Doha, Wikinews)
While 2017 may only emerge as the third warmest year on record, scientists predict it will beat out the competition for warmest year without a warming El Niño.
(World Meteorological Org.: Arctic Warming Appears Irreversible, VOA)
