beat

/bit/ v [T] (past tense beat, past participle beaten /ˈbi·tən/ or beat) (DEFEAT)

Definition

› to defeat a competitor, or to do or be better than someone or something: In football, the Giants beat the 49ers, 17-3. Most people think that the governor will beat his opponent. The room wasn’t much, but it beat driving to a hotel 20 miles away. › To beat something that is going to happen is to take action that will prevent it from having an effect on you: I leave work early to beat the traffic.

(Definition of beat v (DEFEAT) from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)