“beat” – English explanatory dictionary

noun 1. a regular sound ○ The patient’s heart has a regular beat. [ heartbeat 2. a regular sound of a piece of music ○ They danced to the beat of the steel band. 3. an area patrolled by a police officer on foot ○ Here policemen on the beat have to go around in pairs. ■ verb 1. to make a regular sound ○ His heart was still beating when the ambulance arrived. ○ Her heart beat faster as she went into the interview. 2. to hit hard ○ He was beaten by a gang of youths. ○ She hung the carpet on the line and beat it with a stick to remove the dust. □ the burglars beat a hasty retreat the burglars went away very quickly □ don’t beat about the bush get to the point quickly 3. to do better than someone else or than another team in a game ○ They beat their rivals into second place. ○ Our football team beat France 2 – 0. ○ They beat us by 10 goals to 2. ○ We beat the Australians at cricket last year. 4. to stir eggs or another food vigorously ○ Beat the yolks of three eggs with a little cream. 5. □ beat it! go away! (informal.) (NOTE: beating – beat – has beaten)

the allotted range traversed by a policeman on duty.

or BEAT-HOLLOW, to surpass or excel; also “BEAT into fits,” and
“BEAT badly.”

“DEAD-BEAT,” wholly worn out, done up.

(bet), v. t. [imp. Beat; p. p. Beat, Beaten ; p. pr. & vb. n. Beating.] [OE. beaten, beten, AS. beátan; akin to Icel. bauta, OHG. bzan. Cf. 1st Butt, Button.]
1. 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.”
2. To punish by blows; to thrash.
3. 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.”
4. To dash against, or strike, as with water or wind. “A frozen continent … beat with perpetual storms.
Milton.”
5. To tread, as a path. “Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way.
Blackmore.”
6. To overcome in a battle, contest, strife, race, game, etc.; to vanquish or conquer; to surpass. “He beat them in a bloody battle.
Prescott.” “For loveliness, it would be hard to beat that.
M. Arnold.”
7. To cheat; to chouse; to swindle; to defraud; — often with out. [Colloq.]
8. 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.”
9. (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 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.) (a) To take in too little ground with the fore legs, as a horse. (b) 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.