beat

(noun) a regular route for a sentry or policeman. Synonyms: round. Examples: "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. Synonyms: pulse, pulsation, heartbeat. Examples: "He could feel the beat of her heart."

(noun) the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music. Synonyms: rhythm, musical rhythm. Examples: "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. Synonyms: beatnik.

(noun) the sound of stroke or blow. Examples: "He heard the beat of a drum."

(noun) (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse. Synonyms: meter, metre, measure, cadence.

(noun) a regular rate of repetition. Examples: "The cox raised the beat."

(noun) a stroke or blow. Examples: "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. Synonyms: beat out, crush, shell, trounce, vanquish. Examples: "Agassi beat becker in the tennis championship." "We beat the competition." "Harvard defeated yale in the last football game."

(verb) give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression. Synonyms: beat up, work over. Examples: "Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night." "The teacher used to beat the students."

(verb) hit repeatedly. Examples: "Beat on the door." "Beat the table with his shoe."

(verb) move rhythmically. Synonyms: pound, thump. Examples: "Her heart was beating fast."

(verb) shape by beating. Examples: "Beat swords into ploughshares."

(verb) make a rhythmic sound. Synonyms: drum, thrum. Examples: "Rain drummed against the windshield." "The drums beat all night."

(verb) glare or strike with great intensity. Examples: "The sun was beating down on us."

(verb) move with a thrashing motion. Synonyms: flap. Examples: "The bird flapped its wings." "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky."

(verb) sail with much tacking or with difficulty. Examples: "The boat beat in the strong wind."

(verb) stir vigorously. Synonyms: scramble. Examples: "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. Examples: "Beat one's breast." "Beat one's foot rhythmically."

(verb) be superior. Examples: "Reading beats watching television." "This sure beats work!."

(verb) avoid paying. Synonyms: bunk. Examples: "Beat the subway fare."

(verb) make a sound like a clock or a timer. Synonyms: tick, ticktock, ticktack. Examples: "The clocks were ticking." "The grandfather clock beat midnight."

(verb) move with a flapping motion. Synonyms: flap. Examples: "The bird's wings were flapping."

(verb) indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks. Examples: "Beat the rhythm."

(verb) move with or as if with a regular alternating motion. Synonyms: pulsate, quiver. Examples: "The city pulsated with music and excitement."

(verb) make by pounding or trampling. Examples: "Beat a path through the forest."

(verb) produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly. Examples: "Beat the drum."

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

(verb) beat through cleverness and wit. Synonyms: outwit, overreach, outsmart, outfox, circumvent. Examples: "I beat the traffic." "She outfoxed her competitors."

(verb) be a mystery or bewildering to. Synonyms: perplex, vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, pose, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, amaze, dumbfound. Examples: "This beats me!." "Got me--i don't know the answer!." "A vexing problem." "This question really stuck me."

(verb) wear out completely. Synonyms: exhaust, wash up, tucker, tucker out. Examples: "This kind of work exhausts me." "I'm beat." "He was all washed up after the exam."

(adj) very tired. Synonyms: all in(predicate), beat(predicate), bushed(predicate), dead(predicate). Examples: "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."