Dictionary entry details
• BEAT (noun)
Meaning:
A regular route for a sentry or policeman
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Synonyms:
beat; round
Context example:
in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
itinerary; path; route (an established line of travel or access)
Meaning:
The rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Synonyms:
heartbeat; beat; pulse; pulsation
Context example:
he could feel the beat of her heart
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
periodic event; recurrent event (an event that recurs at intervals)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beat"):
diastole (the widening of the chambers of the heart between two contractions when the chambers fill with blood)
systole (the contraction of the chambers of the heart (especially the ventricles) to drive blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery)
pounding; throb; throbbing (an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart))
Meaning:
The basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
rhythm; musical rhythm; beat
Context examples:
the piece has a fast rhythm / the conductor set the beat
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
musical time ((music) the beat of musical rhythm)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beat"):
backbeat (a loud steady beat)
downbeat (the first beat of a musical measure (as the conductor's arm moves downward))
offbeat; upbeat (an unaccented beat (especially the last beat of a measure))
syncopation (a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat)
Meaning:
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
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
oscillation; vibration ((physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean)
Meaning:
A member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
beatnik; beat
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
nonconformist; recusant (someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct)
Holonyms ("beat" is a member of...):
beat generation; beatniks; beats (a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop))
Meaning:
The sound of stroke or blow
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Context example:
he heard the beat of a drum
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)
Meaning:
(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
cadence; metre; meter; measure; beat
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
poetic rhythm; prosody; rhythmic pattern ((prosody) a system of versification)
Domain category:
metrics; prosody (the study of poetic meter and the art of versification)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "beat"):
foot; metrical foot; metrical unit ((prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm)
common measure; common meter (the usual (iambic) meter of a ballad)
scansion (analysis of verse into metrical patterns)
catalexis (the absence of a syllable in the last foot of a line or verse)
Meaning:
A regular rate of repetition
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Context example:
the cox raised the beat
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
pace; rate (the relative speed of progress or change)
Meaning:
A stroke or blow
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Context example:
the signal was two beats on the steam pipe
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
stroke (a single complete movement)
Meaning:
The act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("beat" is a kind of...):
sailing (riding in a sailboat)
• BEAT (adjective)
Meaning:
Very tired
Synonyms:
all in; beat; bushed; dead
Context 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
Similar:
tired (depleted of strength or energy)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
• BEAT (verb)
Meaning:
Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Synonyms:
beat; beat out; vanquish; trounce; crush; shell
Context examples:
Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship / We beat the competition / Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
defeat; get the better of; overcome (win a victory over)
"Beat" entails doing...:
win (be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
best; outdo; outflank; scoop; trump (get the better of)
outfight (to fight better than; get the better of)
overmaster; overpower; overwhelm (overcome by superior force)
checkmate; mate (place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game)
immobilise; immobilize (make defenseless)
outplay (excel or defeat in a game)
bat; clobber; cream; drub; lick; thrash (beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight)
exceed; outdo; outgo; outmatch; outperform; outstrip; surmount; surpass (be or do something to a greater degree)
cheat; chicane; chouse; jockey; screw; shaft (defeat someone in an expectation through trickery or deceit)
outpoint; outscore (score more points than one's opponents)
walk over (beat easily)
eliminate (remove from a contest or race)
mop up; pip; rack up; whip; worst (defeat thoroughly)
whomp (beat overwhelmingly)
rout; spread-eagle; spreadeagle (defeat disastrously)
get the jump (be there first)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sentence example:
The fighter managed to beat his opponent
Meaning:
Give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Synonyms:
beat up; work over; beat
Context examples:
Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night / The teacher used to beat the students
"Beat" entails doing...:
hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
larrup; paddle; spank (give a spanking to; subject to a spanking)
baste; batter; clobber (strike violently and repeatedly)
flail; lam; thrash; thresh (give a thrashing to; beat hard)
kayo; knock cold; knock out (knock unconscious or senseless)
cane; flog; lambast; lambaste (beat with a cane)
flog; lash; lather; slash; strap; trounce; welt; whip (beat severely with a whip or rod)
rough up (treat violently)
belabor; belabour (beat soundly)
pistol-whip (beat with a pistol)
soak (beat severely)
strong-arm (use physical force against)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sentence example:
They want to beat the prisoners
Meaning:
Hit repeatedly
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Context examples:
beat on the door / beat the table with his shoe
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
strike (deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
hammer (beat with or as if with a hammer)
thrash; thresh (beat the seeds out of a grain)
paste (hit with the fists)
whang (beat with force)
coldcock; deck; dump; floor; knock down (knock down with force)
bastinado (beat somebody on the soles of the feet)
beetle (beat with a beetle)
beat (strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting)
full (beat for the purpose of cleaning and thickening)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Move rhythmically
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Synonyms:
thump; pound; beat
Context example:
Her heart was beating fast
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
flap (move noisily)
thrash (beat so fast that (the heart's) output starts dropping until (it) does not manage to pump out blood at all)
flutter; palpitate (beat rapidly)
pulsate; pulse; throb (expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Meaning:
Shape by beating
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Context example:
beat swords into ploughshares
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
forge; form; mold; mould; shape; work (make something, usually for a specific function)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
forge; hammer (create by hammering)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sentence example:
The chef wants to beat the eggs
Meaning:
Make a rhythmic sound
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Synonyms:
drum; thrum; beat
Context examples:
Rain drummed against the windshield / The drums beat all night
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Meaning:
Glare or strike with great intensity
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Context example:
The sun was beating down on us
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
glare (shine intensely)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Meaning:
Move with a thrashing motion
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Synonyms:
flap; beat
Context examples:
The bird flapped its wings / The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
displace; move (cause to move, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
flutter (flag the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements)
bate (flap the wings wildly or frantically; used of falcons)
clap (cause to strike the air in flight)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Sail with much tacking or with difficulty
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Context example:
The boat beat in the strong wind
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
sail (travel in a boat propelled by wind)
Domain category:
navigation; pilotage; piloting (the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Meaning:
Stir vigorously
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Synonyms:
scramble; beat
Context examples:
beat the egg whites / beat the cream
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
agitate; commove; disturb; raise up; shake up; stir up; vex (change the arrangement or position of)
Domain category:
cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
whip; whisk (whip with or as if with a wire whisk)
cream (make creamy by beating)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Context examples:
beat one's breast / beat one's foot rhythmically
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
strike (deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Be superior
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Context examples:
Reading beats watching television / This sure beats work!
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Avoid paying
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
bunk; beat
Context example:
beat the subway fare
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
cheat; chisel; rip off (deprive somebody of something by deceit)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Make a sound like a clock or a timer
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Synonyms:
ticktock; ticktack; tick; beat
Context examples:
the clocks were ticking / the grandfather clock beat midnight
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Meaning:
Move with a flapping motion
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Synonyms:
flap; beat
Context example:
The bird's wings were flapping
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
flail; thresh (move like a flail; thresh about)
clap (strike the air in flight)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Meaning:
Indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Context example:
Beat the rhythm
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
beat out; tap out; thump out (beat out a rhythm)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
Meaning:
Move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Synonyms:
pulsate; quiver; beat
Context example:
the city pulsated with music and excitement
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Meaning:
Make by pounding or trampling
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Context example:
beat a path through the forest
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
create; make (make or cause to be or to become)
"Beat" entails doing...:
trample; tread (tread or stomp heavily or roughly)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Context example:
beat the drum
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
play (perform music on (a musical instrument))
Domain category:
music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
beat (hit repeatedly)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Meaning:
Beat through cleverness and wit
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Synonyms:
outwit; outsmart; outfox; circumvent; overreach; beat
Context examples:
I beat the traffic / She outfoxed her competitors
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
exceed; outdo; outgo; outmatch; outperform; outstrip; surmount; surpass (be or do something to a greater degree)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Meaning:
Be a mystery or bewildering to
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Synonyms:
puzzle; perplex; nonplus; mystify; flummox; dumbfound; bewilder; baffle; stupefy; amaze; gravel; vex; pose; stick; beat; get
Context examples:
This beats me! / Got me--I don't know the answer! / a vexing problem / This question really stuck me
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
bedevil; befuddle; confound; confuse; discombobulate; fox; fuddle; throw (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
mix up; stump (cause to be perplexed or confounded)
riddle (set a difficult problem or riddle)
elude; escape (be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s somebody
Meaning:
Wear out completely
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
Synonyms:
tucker out; tucker; exhaust; wash up; beat
Context examples:
This kind of work exhausts me / I'm beat / He was all washed up after the exam
Hypernyms (to "beat" is one way to...):
fag; fag out; fatigue; jade; outwear; tire; tire out; wear; wear down; wear out; wear upon; weary (exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beat"):
kill (tire out completely)
play (exhaust by allowing to pull on the line)
frazzle (exhaust physically or emotionally)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
