beats

1. A stroke; a blow.
2. A pulsation or throb.

   a beat of the heart; the beat of the pulse

3. A pulse on the beat level, the metric level at which pulses are heard as the basic unit. Thus a beat is the basic time unit of a piece.
4. A rhythm.
5. The interference between two tones of almost equal frequency
6. (authorship) A short pause in a play, screenplay, or teleplay, for dramatic or comedic effect; a plot point or story development.
7. The route patrolled by a police officer or a guard.
8. (by extension) An area of a person's responsibility, especially
9. An act of reporting news or scientific results before a rival; a scoop.
10. That which beats, or surpasses, another or others.

    the beat of him

11. A precinct.
12. A place of habitual or frequent resort.
13. A low cheat or swindler.

    a dead beat

14. The instrumental portion of a piece of hip-hop music.
15. The act of scouring, or ranging over, a tract of land to rouse or drive out game; also, those so engaged, collectively.
16. A smart tap on the adversary's blade.

1. To hit; strike

   As soon as she heard that her father had died, she went into a rage and beat the wall with her fists until her knuckles bled.

2. To strike or pound repeatedly, usually in some sort of rhythm.

   He danced hypnotically while she beat the atabaque.

3. To strike repeatedly; to inflict repeated blows; to knock vigorously or loudly.
4. To move with pulsation or throbbing.
5. To win against; to defeat or overcome; to do better than, outdo, or excel (someone) in a particular, competitive event.

   I just can't seem to beat the last level of this video game.

6. To sail to windward using a series of alternate tacks across the wind.
7. To strike (water, foliage etc.) in order to drive out game; to travel through (a forest etc.) for hunting.
8. To mix food in a rapid fashion. Compare whip.

   Beat the eggs and whip the cream.

9. (In haggling for a price) of a buyer, to persuade the seller to reduce a price

   He wanted $50 for it, but I managed to beat him down to $35.

10. To indicate by beating or drumming.

    to beat a retreat; to beat to quarters

11. To tread, as a path.
12. To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble.
13. To be in agitation or doubt.
14. To make a sound when struck.

    The drums beat.

15. To make a succession of strokes on a drum.

    The drummers beat to call soldiers to their quarters.

16. To sound with more or less rapid alternations of greater and less intensity, so as to produce a pulsating effect; said of instruments, tones, or vibrations, not perfectly in unison.
17. To arrive at a place before someone.

    He beat me there.

18. To have sexual intercourse.

    Bruv, she came in just as we started to beat.

19. To rob.

    He beat me out of 12 bucks last night.

noun

A beatnik.