Synonyms of beat
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as in to lick
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1
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
they attacked and beat him, but fortunately he'll be fine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in to defeat
to achieve a victory over
she always beats everyone at checkers, but she's not as good at chess
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to surpass
to be greater, better, or stronger than
this new animated feature sure beats everything else that's ever been done in animation
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4
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as in to flutter
to move or cause to move with a striking motion
the bird's wings beat strongly as it soared in the air
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6
as in to frustrate
to prevent from achieving a goal
you beat me to it
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as in to drum
to strike or cause to strike lightly and usually rhythmically
beat the drum in a marching rhythm
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10
as in to confuse
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
it beats me how that slipup happened
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11
as in to circumvent
to avoid having to comply with (something) especially through cleverness
he spends all of his time trying to beat the system
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12
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as in to cheat
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
the screenwriter has filed a lawsuit, accusing the production company of beating him out of his share of the film's net profits
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1
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
delivered one hard beat on the drums
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2
as in pulse
a rhythmic expanding and contracting
a single beat of the heart is said to be all that separates the vice president from the presidency
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3
as in rhythm
the recurrent pattern formed by a series of sounds having a regular rise and fall in intensity
moved to the beat of the music
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4
as in minute
a very small space of time
within a beat he was on the phone complaining about an error in his bill
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in tired
depleted in strength, energy, or freshness
can we pick this up tomorrow, because I'm beat?
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of beat
Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Hadid appears beat up with a gash on her arm, dirt on her face, and smeared black eye makeup.
—Christina Perrier, InStyle, 8 Jan. 2026
Rachel Keidan, semafor.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Despite right guard Tellek Lockette taking a redshirt, the unit didn’t miss a beat with Justin DeLeon proving an adequate replacement.
—Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 6 Jan. 2026
Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2025
Here are observations from The Post’s beat reporters on hand for practice, broken up into the Broncos offense, defense and miscellaneous.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for beat
Verb
Through it all, nobody has come close to beating her.
—Noun
Semafor will add to its growing team of beat-defining journalists in Washington, DC, Wall Street, Silicon Valley as well as politics, global business, finance, and economics in order to fuel this acceleration.
—Adjective
Tory Burch leaned into a quirky, off-beat palette that felt fresh and full of personality.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for beat
Verb
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Weir picked up his first guitar licks from David Nelson and future Jefferson Airplane member Jorma Kaukonen.—
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Other photos showed Owen proudly licking the faces of his owners and getting some hugs and pats from the reality star, her husband and children.—
Verb
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The last meeting happened in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season, where the Eagles defeated the Niners 31-7 before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.—
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The Mean Green's best football season ever wasn't even over before the major figures from that team left, or announced their intentions to bounce ASAP; when the season did end, moments after North Texas defeated San Diego State to win the New Mexico Bowl, is when the great Denton flood began.—
Verb
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The project goals, which were ambitious in terms of cell voltage and current density, were surpassed.—
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Stafford sets Rams mark Stafford surpassed Kurt Warner for the most postseason passing yards and completions in Rams history.—
Verb
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Ones where the monster, their creator, or both are possessed by throbbing, animalistic lust.—
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Their throbbing dance videos are shot in mansions and on yachts.—
Verb
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Consisting of wispy layers that create soft movement, akin to fluttering butterfly wings, the cut is a popular option for cascading long lengths.—
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With 10 minutes to spare before a rally at the intersection of 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard, at least 50 protesters were already showing up with drums, saxophones, homemade signs and fluttering American flags to protest ICE's killing of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good.—
Verb
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Games that are too easy bore older players, while overly complex games can frustrate younger ones.—
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But while Coogan racked up millions of views for his YouTube explainers about political figures like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, he was frustrated by the hours of prep work that went into producing a single episode.—
Verb
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Since the start of the season, Arsenal have played 17 matches in total, winning 14, drawing twice, and losing just once, by an aggregate score of 35-5.—
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He was drawn to the kinds of exotic materials favored by the Japanese—among them, rare stones such as color-changing alexandrites and blue-green Paraíba tourmalines—as opposed to, say, emeralds, a staple of the Indian-jewelry repertoire.—
Verb
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But at no time was her skin not glowing through.—
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That's when the stars will really be glowing.—
Cite this Entry
“Beat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beat. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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