A Quick and Simple Dictionary

beat

1. Noun.  A pulsation or throb.
2. Noun.  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.
3. Noun.  A rhythm.
4. Noun.  The interference between two tones of almost equal frequency.
5. Noun.  A short pause in a play, screenplay, or teleplay, for dramatic or comedic effect.
6. Noun.  (law enforcement) The route of a patrol by a guard or officer as in ''walk the beat''.
7. Noun.  In newspapering, the primary focus of a reporter's stories (such as police/courts, education, city government, business etc.).
8. Noun.  The instrumental portion of a piece of hip-hop music.
9. Verb.  (transitive) To hit; to knock; to pound; to strike.
10. Verb.  (transitive) To strike or pound repeatedly, usually in some sort of rhythm.
11. Verb.  (transitive) To win against; to defeat or overcome; to do better than, outdo, or excel (someone) in a particular, competitive event.
12. Verb.  (intransitive, nautical) To sail to windward using a series of alternate tacks across the wind.
13. Verb.  To mix food in a rapid fashion. ''Compare whip.''.
14. Verb.  (transitive, UK) of a buyer, to persuade the seller to reduce a price.
15. Verb.  (nonstandard) (past participle of, beat) .
16. Verb.  (transitive) To indicate by beating or drumming.
17. Adjective.  (gay slang) fabulous.
18. Adjective.  exhausted.
19. Adjective.  (US slang) dilapidated, beat up.
20. Noun.  A beatnik.