• noun:   the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing
• noun:   a stroke or blow

  Example: "The signal was two beats on the steam pipe"

• noun:   a regular rate of repetition

  Example: "The cox raised the beat"

• noun:   the sound of stroke or blow

  Example: "He heard the beat of a drum"

• noun:   a regular route for a sentry or policeman

  Example: "In the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name"

• noun:   a single pulsation of an oscillation produced by adding two waves of different frequencies; has a frequency equal to the difference between the two oscillations
• noun:   the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music

  Example: "The conductor set the beat"

• noun:   a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior
• noun:   (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
• noun:   the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart

  Example: "He could feel the beat of her heart"

• verb:   move with a flapping motion
• verb:   move with a thrashing motion

  Example: "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky"

• verb:   glare or strike with great intensity

  Example: "The sun was beating down on us"

• verb:   avoid paying

  Example: "Beat the subway fare"

• verb:   be superior

  Example: "Reading beats watching television"

• verb:   come out better in a competition, race, or conflict

  Example: "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"

• verb:   give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression

  Example: "Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night"

• verb:   hit repeatedly

  Example: "Beat on the door"

• verb:   strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting
• verb:   strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to music

  Example: "Beat one's breast"

• verb:   stir vigorously

  Example: "Beat the egg whites"

• verb:   shape by beating

  Example: "Beat swords into ploughshares"

• verb:   produce a rhythm by striking repeatedly

  Example: "Beat the drum"

• verb:   make by pounding or trampling

  Example: "Beat a path through the forest"

• verb:   move rhythmically

  Example: "Her heart was beating fast"

• verb:   indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks

  Example: "Beat the rhythm"

• verb:   sail with much tacking or with difficulty

  Example: "The boat beat in the strong wind"

• verb:   make a rhythmic sound

  Example: "The drums beat all night"

• verb:   move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
• verb:   wear out completely

  Example: "I'm beat"

• verb:   make a sound like a clock or a timer

  Example: "The grandfather clock beat midnight"

• verb:   beat through cleverness and wit

  Example: "I beat the traffic"

• verb:   be a mystery or bewildering to

  Example: "This beats me!"

• name:  A surname (very rare: popularity rank in the U.S.: #58553)

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