noun

1. the act of beating to windward
sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

2. a stroke or blow

e.g. the signal was two beats on the steam pipe

3. a regular rate of repetition

e.g. the cox raised the beat

4. the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music

e.g. the piece has a fast rhythm
the conductor set the beat

Synonym: rhythmmusical rhythm

5. (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse

Synonym: metermetremeasurecadence

6. the sound of stroke or blow

e.g. he heard the beat of a drum

7. the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart

e.g. he could feel the beat of her heart

Synonym: pulsepulsationheartbeat

8. a regular route for a sentry or policeman

e.g. in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name

Synonym: round

9. a member of the beat generation
a nonconformist in dress and behavior

Synonym: beatnik

10. 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