beat

a regular route for a sentry or policeman; "in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name"

the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart"

the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music; "the piece has a fast rhythm"; "the conductor set the beat"

a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior

(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse

come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"

give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression; "Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night"; "The teacher used to beat the students"

hit repeatedly; "beat on the door"; "beat the table with his shoe"

move rhythmically; "Her heart was beating fast"

shape by beating; "beat swords into ploughshares"

make a rhythmic sound; "Rain drummed against the windshield"; "The drums beat all night"

move with a thrashing motion; "The bird flapped its wings"; "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky"

stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream"

avoid paying; "beat the subway fare"

make a sound like a clock or a timer; "the clocks were ticking"; "the grandfather clock beat midnight"

beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She outfoxed her competitors"

be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me"

wear out completely; "This kind of work exhausts me"; "I'm beat"; "He was all washed up after the exam"

very tired; "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"