The Collaborative International Dictionary
Beat \Beat\ (b[=e]t), v. t. [imp. Beat; p. p. Beat, Beaten; p. pr. & vb. n. Beating.] [OE. beaten, beten, AS. be['a]tan; akin to Icel. bauta, OHG. b[=o]zan. Cf. 1st Butt, Button.]
-
To strike repeatedly; to lay repeated blows upon; as, to beat one's breast; to beat iron so as to shape it; to beat grain, in order to force out the seeds; to beat eggs and sugar; to beat a drum.
Thou shalt beat some of it [spices] very small.
--Ex. xxx. 36.They did beat the gold into thin plates.
--Ex. xxxix. 3. To punish by blows; to thrash.
-
To scour or range over in hunting, accompanied with the noise made by striking bushes, etc., for the purpose of rousing game.
To beat the woods, and rouse the bounding prey.
--Prior. -
To dash against, or strike, as with water or wind.
A frozen continent . . . beat with perpetual storms.
--Milton. -
To tread, as a path.
Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way.
--Blackmore. -
To overcome in a battle, contest, strife, race, game, etc.; to vanquish, defeat, or conquer; to surpass or be superior to.
He beat them in a bloody battle.
--Prescott.For loveliness, it would be hard to beat that.
--M. Arnold. To cheat; to chouse; to swindle; to defraud; -- often with out. [Colloq.]
-
To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble.
Why should any one . . . beat his head about the Latin grammar who does not intend to be a critic?
--Locke. (Mil.) To give the signal for, by beat of drum; to sound by beat of drum; as, to beat an alarm, a charge, a parley, a retreat; to beat the general, the reveille, the tattoo. See Alarm, Charge, Parley, etc.
to baffle or stump; to defy the comprehension of (a person); as, it beats me why he would do that.
-
to evade, avoid, or escape (blame, taxes, punishment); as, to beat the rap (be acquitted); to beat the sales tax by buying out of state. To beat down, to haggle with (any one) to secure a lower price; to force down. [Colloq.] To beat into, to teach or instill, by repetition. To beat off, to repel or drive back. To beat out, to extend by hammering. To beat out of a thing, to cause to relinquish it, or give it up. ``Nor can anything beat their posterity out of it to this day.'' --South. To beat the dust. (Man.)
To take in too little ground with the fore legs, as a horse.
-
To perform curvets too precipitately or too low.
To beat the hoof, to walk; to go on foot.
To beat the wing, to flutter; to move with fluttering agitation.
To beat time, to measure or regulate time in music by the motion of the hand or foot.
To beat up, to attack suddenly; to alarm or disturb; as, to beat up an enemy's quarters.
Syn: To strike; pound; bang; buffet; maul; drub; thump; baste; thwack; thrash; pommel; cudgel; belabor; conquer; defeat; vanquish; overcome.
Usage examples of "to beat down".
He was forced to personally visit one of the ships crewed by men of the Dakuen sarwe, to beat down what almost amounted to a mutiny.
Climb the wall, get on the other side, do your best to beat down your enemies before they did the same to you.
He believes as we do that the presence of the royal family will hold the Loyalists together, allow them to beat down the Mohd Alliance once and for all, and send the Klingons packing.
As seemed to be the rule on Ireta, the clouds then reluctantly parted, allowing the yellow-white sunlight to beat down.
Though it was still more than an hour until dawn, the owner was already flouring his boards, getting ready to beat down a second batch of dough and start it rising for the ovens.
Please try to beat down those walls with firm hands, but with gentle hands, for a child is very sensitive, and I AM a child.
In addition to using her Bureau to beat down the opposition it was also necessary, occasionally, to use it to protect the truly worthy .