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Definition of "beat" []

  • To strike repeatedly. (verb-transitive)
  • To subject to repeated beatings or physical abuse; batter. (verb-transitive)
  • To punish by hitting or whipping; flog. (verb-transitive)
  • To strike against repeatedly and with force; pound: waves beating the shore. (verb-transitive)
  • To flap, especially wings. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "beat" in a sentence
  • "Punch's eye was still glued to the opening, he saw the soldiers turn rightabout face, disappear through the open doorway, and then, _beat, beat, beat_, the sound of marching began again, this time to die slowly away, and he looked and listened till the pressure of Pen's hand upon his arm grew almost painful."
  • "I next inquired of a watchman, who said there was no place upon his beat; but _beat_ was Gaelic to me; and I repeated my inquiry to another, who directed me towards the hells of Saffron Hill."
  • "The word beat through her brain, both a paradise and a churning storm."