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1. The act of overcoming or outdoing
   - whipping
    
2. The act of inflicting corporal punishment with repeated blows
   - thrashing, licking, drubbing, lacing, trouncing, whacking, hiding [informal]

1. Hit repeatedly
   "beat on the door"; "beat the table with his shoe"
    
2. 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";
   - beat up, work over
    
3. Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
   "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition";
   - beat out, crush, shell, trounce, vanquish
    
4. Move rhythmically
   "Her heart was beating fast";
   - pound, thump
    
5. Shape by beating
   "beat swords into ploughshares"
    
6. Make a rhythmic sound
   "Rain beat against the windscreen";
   - drum, thrum
    
7. Glare or strike with great intensity
   "The sun was beating down on us"
    
8. (of wings) move up and down with a thrashing motion
   "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky";
   - flap
    
9. Sail with much tacking or with difficulty
   "The boat beat in the strong wind"
    
10. (cooking) stir vigorously
    "beat the cream";
    - scramble
     
11. 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"
     
12. Be superior
    "Reading beats watching television"; "This sure beats work!"
     
13. Avoid paying
    "beat the subway fare";
    - bunk [informal]
     
14. Make a sound like a clock or a timer
    "the grandfather clock beat midnight";
    - tick, ticktock, ticktack [N. Amer]
     
15. Move with a flapping motion
    "The bird's wings were beating";
    - flap
     
16. Indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks
    "Beat the rhythm"
     
17. Move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
    "the city beat with music and excitement";
    - pulsate, quiver
     
18. Make by pounding or trampling
    "beat a path through the forest"
     
19. (music) produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly
    "beat the drum"
     
20. Strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting
     
21. Beat through cleverness and wit
    "I beat the traffic";
    - outwit, overreach, outsmart, outfox, circumvent, outthink
     
22. Confuse or leave at a loss because of something complex or difficult to understand
    "This beats me!";
    - confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate [informal], perplex, vex, stick, get, puzzle, mystify, baffle, pose, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, nonplus, gravel, dumbfound
     
23. [informal] Wear out completely
    "I'm beat";
    - exhaust, wash up, tucker [N. Amer, informal], tucker out [N. Amer, informal]

Derived forms: beatings

See also: beaten

Type of: agitate, be, cheat, chisel [informal], combat, commove, corporal punishment, create, defeat, displace, disturb, exceed, fag [informal], fag out [Brit, informal], fatigue, fight, fighting, forge, form, get the better of, glare, go, jade, knacker [Brit, informal], make, mold [N. Amer], mould [Brit, Cdn], move, outdo, outgo [archaic], outmatch, outperform, outstrip, outwear, overcome, play, raise up, rip off [informal], sail, scrap, shake up, shape, sound, stir up, strike, surmount, surpass, tire, tire out, vex, wear, wear down, wear out, wear upon, weary, work

Encyclopedia: Beating