Phrase guide

beat time

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To measure or regulate time in music by the motion of the hand or foot.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 打拍子 — to measure or regulate time
  • Finnish: lyödä tahtia — to measure or regulate time
  • French: battre la mesure — to measure or regulate time
  • Polish: wybijać rytm — to measure or regulate time
  • Polish: wybić rytm — to measure or regulate time
  • Russian: отбивать такт (otbivatʹ takt) — to measure or regulate time
  • Russian: отбивать ритм (otbivatʹ ritm) — to measure or regulate time