the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing;
a stroke or blow; "the signal was two beats on the steam pipe";
a regular rate of repetition; "the cox raised the beat";
the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music; "the piece has a fast rhythm"; "the conductor set the beat";
(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse;
the sound of stroke or blow; "he heard the beat of a drum";
the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart; "he could feel the beat of her heart";
a regular route for a sentry or policeman; "in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name";
a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior;
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;
wear out completely; "This kind of work exhausts me"; "I''m beat"; "He was all washed up after the exam";
be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--I don''t know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This question really stuck me";
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";
beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She outfoxed her competitors";
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";
hit repeatedly; "beat on the door"; "beat the table with his shoe";
strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting;
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";
stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream";
shape by beating; "beat swords into ploughshares";
produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly; "beat the drum";
make by pounding or trampling; "beat a path through the forest";
move with or as if with a regular alternating motion; "the city pulsated with music and excitement";
move rhythmically; "Her heart was beating fast";
indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks; "Beat the rhythm";
sail with much tacking or with difficulty; "The boat beat in the strong wind";
move with a flapping motion; "The bird''s wings were flapping";
move with a thrashing motion; "The bird flapped its wings"; "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky";
glare or strike with great intensity; "The sun was beating down on us";
make a rhythmic sound; "Rain drummed against the windshield"; "The drums beat all night";
make a sound like a clock or a timer; "the clocks were ticking"; "the grandfather clock beat midnight";
avoid paying; "beat the subway fare";
be superior; "Reading beats watching television"; "This sure beats work!";
