Collocations for "beat"
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "beat" in context.
WordReference English Collocations © 2025
beat
ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.v
- beat [an egg, the egg whites, a yolk]
- beating a drum
- beating the drum for [justice, the cause]
- beat [his wife, their victims]
- beat him [bloody, unconscious, to death, black and blue]
- beat up [a boy, another student]
- beaten up [at school, coming home, in class]
- beaten up by [a bully, another child]
- beat the [odds, probability]
- [don't, you shouldn't, there's no need to] beat yourself up
- beat the (world) record (for)
- beat the [game, level, boss, clock]
- [can't, will] beat the price
- beat [his opponent, the other team]
- beat her at [chess, tennis]
- was beaten at [chess] (by)
- [hard, impossible] to beat
- beat back [their advances, the resistance, opposition]
- beat the pants off [her opponent, the competition]
- beat down the [enemy, opponent]
- beat down the [door, car, runner]
- beating off [suitors, rivals, the competition]
- the [bird, eagle, hummingbird] was beating its wings
- his heart was beating [rapidly, fast, irregularly]
- could hear her heart beating [loudly, in her chest]
- his heart stopped beating
- beat a (hasty) retreat
- beat on the [drum, door, table]
- beat a path [to, through, across]
- (don't) beat around the bush
- slang: beat it!
- sexually explicit: was beating off
- sexually explicit: she beat me off
- has a [strong, fast, weak] beat
- the music has [an uptempo, a slow] beat
- a [6/8, 3/4, standard reggae] beat
- [Latin, jazz, dance] beat
- on the [down, back, third] beat
- [listen, dance, play, nod] to the beat
- have lost the beat
- stay on the beat
- [rest, hold] for [two beats]
- wait four beats before [playing, singing, coming in]
- made [several] loud beats on the drum
- my heart skipped a beat
- can [hear, listen to] your heartbeat
- [60] beats per [minute]
- she never misses a beat
- the [night, local, policeman's, officer's] beat
- beat [poet, poetry]
- the Beat [Generation, Poets]
- US: am [well, totally, completely] beat
- US: [well] beat after the long [flight, day, match]
- US: [totally] beat after [partying, staying up, babysitting] last night
'beat' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Britain
- Canada
- England
- Ireland
- Japan
- addiction
- allegedly
- anytime
- bat
- battle
- beggar
- bid
- black
- blue
- cane
- champion
- clap
- convenience
- culprit
- dance
- deadline
- dent
- drug
- drum
- dungeon
- egg
- enemy
- fake
- fiend
- fist
- frog
- hasty
- however
- knife
- lay
- lively
- marker
- meet
- menace
- minute
- miss
- monkey
- nemesis
- nip
- nutmeg
- opponent
- pipe
- poetry
- point
- pool