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

[ Syn: round ]

the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

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

[ Syn: pulse , pulsation , heartbeat ]

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

[ Syn: rhythm , musical rhythm ]

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

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

[ Syn: beatnik ]

the sound of stroke or blow; he heard the beat of a drum'

(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse

[ Syn: meter , metre , measure , cadence ]

a regular rate of repetition; the cox raised the beat'

a stroke or blow; the signal was two beats on the steam pipe'

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; Im dead after that long trip

[ Syn: all in , bushed , dead ]

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

[ Syn: beat out , crush , shell , trounce , vanquish ]

stir vigorously; beat the egg whites; beat the cream

[ Syn: scramble ]

strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music; beat one's breast; beat one's foot rhythmically'

be superior; Reading beats watching television; This sure beats work!'

avoid paying; beat the subway fare

[ Syn: bunk ]

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

[ Syn: tick , ticktock , ticktack ]

move with a flapping motion; The birds wings were flapping

[ Syn: flap ]

indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks; Beat the rhythm'

move with or as if with a regular alternating motion; the city pulsated with music and excitement

[ Syn: pulsate , quiver ]

make by pounding or trampling; beat a path through the forest'

produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly; beat the drum'

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

[ Syn: beat up , work over ]

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

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

[ Syn: outwit , overreach , outsmart , outfox , circumvent ]

be a mystery or bewildering to; This beats me!; Got me--I dont know the answer!; a vexing problem; This question really stuck me

[ Syn: perplex , vex , stick , get , puzzle , mystify , baffle , pose , bewilder , flummox , stupefy , nonplus , gravel , amaze , dumbfound ]

wear out completely; This kind of work exhausts me; Im beat; He was all washed up after the exam

[ Syn: exhaust , wash up , tucker , tucker out ]

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

move rhythmically; Her heart was beating fast

[ Syn: pound , thump ]

shape by beating; beat swords into ploughshares'

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

[ Syn: drum , thrum ]

glare or strike with great intensity; The sun was beating down on us'

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

[ Syn: flap ]

sail with much tacking or with difficulty; The boat beat in the strong wind'