Phrase Hound found 159 phrases and 98 compound words that contain beat. The most common are listed below. Open beat in the live search for definitions, filters, and the full list.
Phrases 159
- beat upTo give a severe beating to; to assault violently with repeated blows.
- beat the clockTo perform a task or successfully complete an activity within a time limit.
- beat the systemTo circumvent rules, regulations, or conventions, usually by finding loopholes.
- beat the oddsTo succeed despite being unlikely to do so.
- beat the meatAlternative form of beat one's meat (“to masturbate”).
- beat the crowdTo arrive at a location or complete a task before a large group of people do so.
- heart beatAlternative form of heartbeat: One pulsation of the heart; especially an irregular one, hence the emotion which causes it.
- beat downUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see beat, down.
- beat around the bushTo treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally.
- beat the airTo fight to no purpose, or against an imaginary enemy.
- beat outTo sound a rhythm on a percussion instrument such as a drum.
- walk the beatTo patrol on the job, especially as a police officer or guard.
- beat the drumTo mark the rhythm.
- to beat the bandIn such a way as to surpass all competition; hence, contextually, very vigorously, at a frantic pace, to a high degree.
- beat timeTo measure or regulate time in music by the motion of the hand or foot.
- beat the dustTo perform curvets too precipitately or too low.
- Beat GenerationA group of countercultural American writers who came to prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most important works are Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957), Allen Ginsberg's Howl (1956), and William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch …
- beat up onTo hurt someone by hitting or kicking them many times.
- take a beatTo pause and take a moment to collect your thoughts, calm down, or regain composure before reacting.
- big beatA form of pop music having distorted breakbeats at a moderate tempo.
- police beatUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see police, beat.
- miss a beatAlternative form of skip a beat: To miss a beat.
- blue-beatAlternative form of bluebeat: Any of various styles of Jamaican music, popular in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, precursor of reggae.
- beat the batOf a ball: to just barely avoid being struck by the bat, through sheer luck.
- beat one's swords into ploughsharesTo refrain from destructive military or paramilitary acts (war, terrorism, etc.) and put energy and resources to peaceful ends that would otherwise go to violence.
Compound words 98
- beetleAny of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
- BeatlesAn extremely successful and influential British rock music quartet that operated primarily in the 1960s.
- heartbeatOne pulsation of the heart; especially an irregular one, hence the emotion which causes it.
- unbeatableThat cannot be beaten, defeated or overcome
- offbeatThe beats not normally accented in a measure.
- beaterSomeone or something that beats.
- deadbeatA lazy or irresponsible person who is often unemployed, often depending upon wealthy or otherwise financially independent people for support.
- downbeatThe accented beat at the beginning of a bar (indicated by a conductor with a downward stroke).
- breakbeatA form of syncopated rhythm prominent in much African music.
- drumbeatThe beating of a drum.