beat

/biːt/

//biːt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"beat" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“beat” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,042 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,042
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A stroke; a blow.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

beat vs Bt
25% similar
beat vs but
50% similar
beat vs bit
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for beat
PropertyValue
Headwordbeat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/biːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,042
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “beat” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). beat lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for beat is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /biːt/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,042 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 19 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for beat, with forms such as "baet", "bbeat", and "beatt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Bt", "but", "bit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan (“to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push, strike”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch boten, botten, butten (“to push,… The correct English form is beat, spelled B-E-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stroke; a blow.
  2. 2
    A pulsation or throb.
  3. 3
    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.
  4. 4
    A rhythm.
  5. 5
    A rhythm.
  6. 6
    The instrumental portion of a piece of hip-hop music.
  7. 7
    The interference between two tones of almost equal frequency
  8. 8
    A short pause in a play, screenplay, or teleplay, for dramatic or comedic effect.
  9. 9
    An area of a person's responsibility, especially
  10. 10
    An area of a person's responsibility, especially
  11. 11
    An act of reporting news or scientific results before a rival; a scoop.
  12. 12
    That which beats, or surpasses, another or others.
  13. 13
    A precinct.
  14. 14
    A place of habitual or frequent resort.
  15. 15
    A place of habitual or frequent resort.
  16. 16
    A low cheat or swindler.
  17. 17
    The act of scouring, or ranging over, a tract of land to rouse or drive out game; also, those so engaged, collectively.
  18. 18
    A smart tap on the adversary's blade.
  19. 19
    A makeup look; compare beat one's face.

Etymology

From Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan (“to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push, strike”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch boten, botten, butten (“to push, strike”), German boßen (“to thrash”), Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (*bautan, “to beat, strike”) (whence, probably, Galician and Portuguese botar (“to expel; to throw”)); also Latin fūstis (“club, cudgel, knobbed stick, staff”), *fūtō (“to strike”), Albanian bahe, hobe (“sling”), Armenian բութ (butʻ), բույթ (buytʻ, “thumb”).

This word in other languages

latido(Español)battement(Français)Schlag(Deutsch)batida(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: baet,bbeat,beatt,ebat

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of beat - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

baet2bbeat1beatt1ebat2
Edit distance from "beat"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "beat"?
"beat" is spelled B-E-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /biːt/.
What does "beat" mean?
As a noun, "beat" means: A stroke; a blow.
What words are commonly confused with "beat"?
"beat" is commonly confused with "Bt", "but", "bit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "beat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "beat" is /biːt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "beat"?
From Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan (“to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push, strike”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch boten, botten, butten ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “beat”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-E-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /biːt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Bt” - see the side-by-side comparison. beat vs Bt
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list