beat

to be more pleasant, useful, or satisfying than another activity, choice, or experience — used to say one option is clearly the best.

• outclass

  more formal; emphasises being on a higher level of quality.

• top

  informal; often used about achievements ('hard to top this view').

to gain control over a serious problem such as an illness, an addiction, or a difficult situation, so that it no longer harms or stops you.

• overcome

  more formal; very common with abstract problems and emotions.

• conquer

  stronger and more dramatic; suggests a long struggle.

• succumb to

  formal; to be overcome by an illness or pressure instead of beating it.

to do something or finish a task in time, so that you avoid an event such as bad weather, a crowd, or a closing deadline.

• avoid

  wider meaning; doesn't always involve doing something before a deadline.

• outrun

  literal or figurative; suggests speed against an approaching event.

• miss

  to fail to arrive or finish in time, the opposite outcome.

to reach a place, get an item, or finish an action earlier than another person who is trying to do the same thing.

• get there first

  informal phrase; only fits the literal 'arrive first' meaning.

• pre-empt

  formal; used in business and politics for acting before someone else.

to strike someone or something forcefully over and over again — for example, to injure a person, to knock dust out of a rug, or to make a loud, drumming sound on a surface.

• strike

  more formal and neutral; can be a single hit or repeated blows.

• pound

  stresses heavy, loud, repeated blows.

• thrash

  old-fashioned for hitting a person as punishment.

to create a track through tall grass, bushes, or rough ground by walking over it many times or pushing the plants aside as you go.

• tread

  more about repeated walking; less about clearing

• trample

  stresses crushing the plants underfoot

• blaze

  as in 'blaze a trail' — usually by marking, not pushing through

to stir food, especially eggs, cream, or batter, with quick repeated strokes of a fork, spoon, or whisk so it becomes smooth, light, or thick.

• whisk

  specifically with a wire whisk, often for air

• whip

  until thick or stiff, usually cream or whites

• blend

  softer mixing; often with a machine

to use repeated hammer blows on a material such as metal, gold, or dried roots until it becomes flat, thinner, or takes on a new form.

• hammer

  stresses the tool used

• forge

  specifically heated metal worked by a smith

• pound

  heavy repeated blows; often grain or roots

if a heart, drum, or pair of wings beats, or if you beat one, it makes a steady repeated movement or sound, like the pumping of blood or the flapping of wings in flight.

• throb

  stresses a strong rhythmic pulse, often painful

• pound

  very strong, heavy beating

• flap

  for wings only, no rhythm implied

to keep time with a piece of music by tapping a finger, foot, or stick in steady regular movements that match its rhythm.

• tap

  lighter, less formal

• mark

  as in 'mark the beat', neutral

• drum

  with fingers, on a surface

if a question, problem, or situation beats you, it is so puzzling that you cannot understand it or find an answer no matter how hard you try.

• baffle

  more neutral; common in writing

• stump

  informal; usually for questions

• puzzle

  softer; often used as a passive 'I am puzzled'

to leave a person feeling so drained of energy after a long or demanding effort that they can barely keep going.

• exhaust

  more formal; same idea of fully draining energy

• wear out

  very common phrasal-verb equivalent in everyday speech

• drain

  stresses loss of energy or spirit, often emotional

• energize

  to fill someone with new energy instead of using it up

the basic rhythmic pulse running through music or poetry — the regular pattern that listeners tap their foot to, or that drums and bass hold down underneath the melody.

• rhythm

  broader — the whole pattern of long and short sounds, not just the pulse

• tempo

  the speed at which the beat goes, not the beat itself

• meter

  more technical, used in poetry and classical music

one act of striking something, or the noise or pressure that this act creates — for example, the thud of a hammer hitting a nail or the dull pounding of waves against a boat.

• blow

  very close synonym; more common for a single sharp strike

• stroke

  neutral; common for tools like hammers, oars, or brushes

• thump

  informal; emphasizes a dull, heavy sound

the streets or neighbourhood that a police officer is regularly assigned to patrol, or the subject area and contacts a reporter is told to follow for news stories.

• patrol

  more general — the act of walking, not the area

• round

  common in British English for a regular route

• territory

  broader, can be informal or business-related

a police officer whose duty is to walk around a neighbourhood on foot — instead of patrolling from inside a car — so that they can chat with local residents.

• beat officer

  the more common full form

• patrolman

  older / American, sometimes seen as dated

• constable

  British, more formal rank

a small pause in speech, acting, or storytelling that gives the audience time to react — often used by actors and writers to make a moment land harder.

• pause

  broader and more everyday

• moment

  less precise about timing

• break

  longer and more general

a tiny gap of time, lasting only a second or two, before someone speaks or before something happens — used when describing real conversation or events, not a planned dramatic pause.

• second

  everyday and slightly longer

• moment

  more general, can be longer too

• instant

  even shorter and more formal

a key turning point inside a story, screenplay, or scene where the action shifts, a character makes a decision, or new information changes how the audience feels.

• moment

  more general; lacks the structural sense of plot construction

• turning point

  stronger — implies a major change rather than any small shift

• plot point

  near-synonym in screenwriting; usually larger than a beat