■ verb ( past ~ ; past participle ~en )
1》 strike (a person or an animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or punish them.
↘strike repeatedly so as to make a noise.
↘flatten or shape (metal) by striking it repeatedly with a hammer.
2》 defeat in a game or other competitive situation.
↘surpass (a record or score).
↘overcome (a problem).
↘ informal baffle: it ~s me how you manage it.
3》 (of the heart) pulsate.
4》 (of a bird) move (the wings) up and down.
5》 stir (cooking ingredients) vigorously.
6》 move across (an area of land) repeatedly striking at the ground cover in order to raise game birds for shooting.
7》 Sailing sail into the wind, with repeated tacking.
■ noun
1》 a main accent or rhythmic unit in music or poetry.
↘a rhythm or rhythmic sound or movement.
↘a pulsation of the heart.
↘a periodic variation of sound or amplitude due to the combination of two sounds or other vibrations with similar but not identical frequencies.
2》 the movement of a bird's wings.
3》 an area allocated to a police officer and patrolled on foot.
↘a spell of duty allocated to a police officer.
↘a stretch of water fished by an angler.
4》 a brief pause or moment of hesitation.
■ adjective informal completely exhausted.
Phrases
~ about the bush discuss a matter without coming to the point.
~ the bounds historical mark parish boundaries by walking round them and striking certain points with rods.
~ the clock perform a task within a fixed time limit.
~ a ( hasty ) retreat withdraw.
~ time indicate or follow a musical tempo with a baton or other means.
off the ~en track in or into an isolated place.
to ~ the band informal, chiefly N. Amer. so as to surpass all competition.
Phrasal verbs
~ someone down force someone to reduce the price of something.
~ it informal leave a place.
~ off vulgar slang (of a man) masturbate.
~ someone/thing off succeed in resisting an attacker or an attack.
~ someone up assault someone by hitting them repeatedly.
↘( ~ oneself up ) informal reproach or criticize oneself excessively.
~ up on someone North American way of saying ~ someone up .
Derivatives
~able adjective
~ing noun
Origin
OE bēatan , of Gmc origin.