beat / bēt/ • v. (past beat; past part. beat·en / ˈbētn/ ) [tr.] 1. strike (a person or an animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or injure them, usually with an implement such as a club or whip: she beat me with a stick for the slightest misdemeanor. ∎  strike (an object) repeatedly so as to make a noise: he beat the table with his hand. ∎  [intr.] (of an instrument) make a rhythmical sound by being struck: drums were beating in the distance. ∎  flatten or shape (metal) by striking it repeatedly with a hammer: pure gold can be beaten out to form very thin sheets. ∎  move across (an area of land) repeatedly striking at the ground cover in order to raise game birds for shooting.2. defeat (someone) in a game, competition, election, or commercial venture: she beat him easily at chess. ∎ inf. baffle: it beats me how you manage to work in this heat. ∎  overcome (a problem, or disease): they are investing their savings in hopes of beating inflation. ∎  do or be better than (a record or score): he beat his own world record. ∎ inf. be better than: you can't beat the taste of fresh raspberries.3. succeed in getting somewhere ahead of (someone): I could beat him on my bicycle. ∎  take action to avoid (difficult or inconvenient effects of an event or circumstance): they set off early to beat the traffic.4. [intr.] (of the heart) pulsate: her heart beat faster with panic.5. (of a bird) move (the wings) up and down. ∎  (of a bird or its wings) make rhythmic movements through (the air): black-tipped wings beat the air.6. stir (cooking ingredients) vigorously with a fork, whisk, or beater to make a smooth or frothy mixture.7. (beat it) inf. leave: [in imper.] now beat it, will you! • n. 1. a main accent or rhythmic unit in music or poetry: the glissando begins on the second beat. ∎  a strong rhythm in popular music: the music changed to a funky disco beat. ∎  [in sing] a regular, rhythmic sound or movement: the beat of the wipers became almost hypnotic. ∎  the sound made when something, typically a musical instrument, is struck: he heard a regular drumbeat. ∎  a pulsation of the heart. ∎  a periodic variation of sound or amplitude due to the combination of two sounds, electrical signals, or other vibrations having similar but not identical frequencies. ∎  the movement of a bird's wings.2. an area allocated to a police officer to patrol: a patrolman who strived to make his beat a safe one public clamor for more police officers on the beat. ∎  a spell of duty allocated to a police officer: her beat ended at 6 a.m. ∎  an area regularly frequented by someone, typically a prostitute. ∎ fig. a person's area of interest: his beat is construction, property, and hotels.3. a brief pause or moment of hesitation, typically one lasting a specified length: she waited for a beat of three seconds.• adj. 1. infomal completely exhausted: I'm dead beat.2. of or relating to the beat generation or its philosophy: beat poet Allen Ginsberg.PHRASES: beat all be amazing or impressive: well, that beats all.beat around the bush discuss a matter without coming to the point.beat someone's brains outsee brain.beat the bushes inf. search thoroughly: I was out beating the bushes for investors to split the risk.beat the clock perform a task quickly or within a fixed time limit.beat a dead horse waste energy on a lost cause or unalterable situation.beat the hell out of inf. 1. beat (someone) very severely.2. surpass or defeat easily.beat the pants off inf. prove to be vastly superior to.beat a path to someone's door (of a large number of people) hasten to make contact with someone regarded as interesting or inspiring, or in association with whom one stands to profit.beat a (hasty) retreat withdraw, typically in order to avoid something unpleasant: as the bombs started to go off, they beat a hasty retreat across the field.beat the shit out of vulgar slang beat (someone) very severely.beat the system succeed in finding a means of getting around rules, regulations, or other means of control.beat time indicate or follow a musical tempo with a baton or other means.miss a beatsee miss¹ .to beat all ——s that is infinitely better than all the things mentioned: a PC screen saver to beat all screen savers.to beat the band inf. in such a way as to surpass all competition: they were talking to beat the band.PHRASAL VERBS: beat someone back (usu. be beaten back) force (someone attempting to do something) to retreat: I tried to get in but was beaten back by the flames.beat down (of the sun) radiate intense heat and brightness. ∎  (of rain) fall hard and continuously.beat something down quell defense or resistance.beat off vulgar slang (of a man) masturbate.beat someone/something off succeed in resisting an attacker or an attack. ∎  win against a challenge or rival.beat something out produce a loud, rhythmic sound by striking something: he beat out a rhythm on the drums.beat someone up1. assault and severely injure someone by hitting, kicking, or punching them repeatedly.2. abuse someone verbally.beat up onanother way of saying beat someone up.DERIVATIVES: beat·a·ble adj.

beat.
1. Unit of measurement of rhythmic pulse of mus. (i.e. waltz has 3 beats to the measure), as indicated in time signature. In 4/4 time each quarter-note (crotchet) is one beat, but in more complicated signatures much depends on the tempo selected. E.g. in 12/8 time there are 12 beats to a measure if taken very slowly, or else one for each dotted crotchet.

2. The cond.'s action corresponding to the required rhythmic pulse.

3. When 2 notes near to each other in vibration frequency are heard together their vibrations necessarily coincide at regular intervals and thus reinforce each other. This periodical reinforcement is known as a beat and is made use of in pf.-tuning.

4. Name given variously to ornament in early mus., sometimes applied to a mordent and sometimes to acciaccatura. Still other references imply a ‘reversed shake’ by this term.

5. Term in jazz, basically meaning the rhythmical pulse of the mus., but also meaning jazz in a generic sense, e.g. ‘the beat is black’ = Negro jazz.

Beat ★★ 2000

Disappointing look at the events leading up to William S. Burroughs's shooting of his wife in Mexico in 1951. Tangled hetero and homosexual relationships and unrequited longings between future literarati Burroughs (Sutherland), his wife (Love), Allen Ginsberg (Livingston), Lucien Carr (Reedus), and Jack Kerouac (Martinez) should've provided more spark, but the indifferent direction and poor script give the actors little to work with. 89m/C VHS, DVD . Courtney Love, Kiefer Sutherland, Ron Livingston, Kyle Secor, Daniel Martinez, Sam Trammell; D: Gary Walkow; W: Gary Walkow; C: Ciro Cabello; M: Ernest Troost.

beat beat about the bush discuss a matter without coming to the point; be ineffectual and waste time. A metaphor originating in the shooting or netting of birds.
beat a (hasty) retreat withdraw, typically in order to avoid something unpleasant. Formerly in a military context, a drumbeat could be used to keep soldiers in step while retreating.
beat the bounds trace out the boundaries of a parish, striking certain points with rods; the custom is recorded from the late 16th century.
beat the bushes search thoroughly. A North American expression, originating in the practice of hunters who walk through undergrowth with long sticks to force birds or animals hiding in the bushes out into the open where they can be shot or netted.
beat the Dutch say or do something extraordinary; the term is recorded from the late 18th century, and is from the US.
if you can't beat them, join them advice as to coping with overwhelming opposition, often used in consolation or resignation. The saying is recorded from the mid 20th century (in the US, the form is lick rather than beat).

beat
1. To agitate an ingredient or a mixture by vigorously turning it over and over with an upward motion, in order to introduce air, using a spoon, fork, whisk, or electric mixer.

2. Raw meat is beaten by hitting it briskly all over the surface to break down the fibres and make it more tender when cooked.