beat (verb)

  • 1beat out — verb 1. come out better in a competition, race, or conflict (Freq. 2) Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship We beat the competition Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game • Syn: ↑beat, ↑crush, ↑shell, ↑ …

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  • 2beat — ► VERB (past beat; past part. beaten) 1) strike (someone) repeatedly and violently. 2) strike repeatedly to flatten or make a noise. 3) defeat, surpass, or overcome. 4) informal baffle. 5) (of the heart) pulsate. 6) …

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  • 3beat down — verb 1. persuade the seller to accept a lower price She beat the merchant down $100 • Syn: ↑bargain down • Hypernyms: ↑haggle, ↑higgle, ↑chaffer, ↑huckster • Verb …

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  • 4beat up — verb 1. 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, ↑work over • Derivationally… …

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  • 5beat back — verb cause to move back by force or influence repel the enemy push back the urge to smoke beat back the invaders • Syn: ↑repel, ↑drive, ↑repulse, ↑force back, ↑push back …

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  • 6beat around the bush — verb be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information • Syn: ↑equivocate, ↑tergiversate, ↑prevaricate, ↑palter • Derivationally related forms: ↑paltering (for: ↑palter), ↑ …

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  • 7beat a retreat — verb depart hastily • Hypernyms: ↑depart, ↑take leave, ↑quit • Verb Frames: Somebody s * * * phrasal : to retreat or retire often in haste or with loss of dignity * * * beat a retreat …

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  • 8beat — UK US /biːt/ verb [T] (beat, beaten, US also beat) ► to do better than someone or something: »Yesterday s close beat the record set Feb. 1. »With their lowest price guarantee, they will beat the price of a competitor s product by 10%. beat… …

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  • 9beat — verb (past beat; past participle beaten) 1》 strike (a person or an animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or punish them.     ↘strike repeatedly so as to make a noise.     ↘flatten or shape (metal) by striking it repeatedly with a hammer …

    English new terms dictionary

  • 10beat up phrasal — verb 1 (transitive beat someone up) to hurt someone badly by hitting them: They claimed they had been beaten up by the police. 2 beat up on AmE to hit someone and harm them, especially someone younger or weaker than yourself 3 beat up on yourself …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English