beating

(noun) the act of overcoming or outdoing. Synonyms: whipping.

(noun) the act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows. Synonyms: thrashing, licking, drubbing, lacing, trouncing, whacking.

(verb) come out better in a competition, race, or conflict. Synonyms: beat, 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, 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. Synonyms: beat. Examples: "Beat on the door." "Beat the table with his shoe."

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

(verb) shape by beating. Synonyms: beat. Example: "Beat swords into ploughshares."

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

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

(verb) move with a thrashing motion. Synonyms: beat, 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. Synonyms: beat. Example: "The boat beat in the strong wind."

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

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

(verb) avoid paying. Synonyms: beat, bunk. Example: "Beat the subway fare."

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

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

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

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

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

(verb) produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly. Synonyms: beat. Example: "Beat the drum."

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

(verb) beat through cleverness and wit. Synonyms: outwit, overreach, outsmart, outfox, beat, 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, beat, 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, beat, tucker, tucker out. Examples: "This kind of work exhausts me." "I'm beat." "He was all washed up after the exam."