beat
To win against someone in a game or contest.
The word beat has several meanings:
- To strike something repeatedly. A drummer beats the drums with sticks, creating rhythm and sound. Rain beats against the window during a storm. Your heart beats steadily in your chest, pumping blood through your body about 100,000 times each day.
- To defeat someone in a competition. When you beat an opponent in chess, you've outplayed them and won the game. A runner who beats her personal record has run faster than she ever has before. Teams practice hard hoping to beat their rivals.
- To mix something vigorously, like when you beat eggs with a whisk to make them fluffy for scrambled eggs or an omelet. Bakers beat cake batter to blend the ingredients smoothly.
- A regular route or area that someone patrols. A police officer walks their beat, checking the same neighborhood streets.
When you're completely exhausted, you might say you're beat. And if you arrive somewhere before everyone else, you beat them there.