- OE. beatenbeten, AS. beátan; akin to Icel. bauta, OHG. bōzan. Cf. 1st ButtButton
- 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.They did beat the gold into thin plates.
- 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.
- To dash against, or strike, as with water or wind.A frozen continent . . . beat with perpetual storms.
- To tread, as a path.Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way.
- 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.For loveliness, it would be hard to beat that.
- 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?
- MilTo 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 AlarmChargeParley, 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 strike; pound; bang; buffet; maul; drub; thump; baste; thwack; thrash; pommel; cudgel; belabor; conquer; defeat; vanquish; overcome.
