beat to get more points, votes etc than someone.
Beat is used especially in spoken English:
We should have beaten them easily. I always beat my brother at tennis.defeat to beat someone.
Defeat is more formal than
beat and is used especially in writing:
England were defeated by 2 goals to 1. Bush defeated Kerry in the election.trounce /traʊns/ to defeat someone completely in a game:
They were trounced 20–0 by Kuwait.thrash British English informal,
cream American English informal to beat someone very easily in a game:
Of course, they totally creamed the other team. I hope we thrash them!wipe the floor with somebody informal to beat someone completely in a game or argument:
She wiped the floor with her opponent in the debate. They won a £1,000 prize after wiping the floor with the opposition in a bowling competition.grate to cut cheese, carrot etc into small pieces by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the top of the pasta.melt to make butter, chocolate etc become liquid:
Melt the butter, chocolate, and 1 teaspoon of cream over a low heat.sieve British English,
sift American English to put flour or other powders through a
sieve (=tool like a net made of wire, which you use for removing larger grains or pieces):
Sift the flour and cocoa before adding to the rest of the mixture.chop to cut something into pieces, especially using a big knife:
Chop up the vegetables.dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
Dice the carrots and then fry them in butter.season to add salt, pepper etc to food:
Season the meat before grilling.crush to use a lot of force to break something such as seeds into very small pieces or into a powder:
Add one clove of crushed garlic.mix to combine different foods together:
Mix together all the ingredients in one bowl.beat/whisk to mix food together quickly with a fork or other tool:
Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.stir to turn food around with a spoon:
Stir the sauce gently to prevent burning.fold something in to gently mix another substance into a mixture:
Fold in the beaten egg whites.knead to press
dough (=a mixture of flour and water) many times with your hands when you are making bread:
Knead the dough for ten minutes, until smooth.drizzle to slowly pour a small amount of a liquid onto something:
Drizzle with olive oil.let something stand to leave something somewhere, before you do something else with it:
Let the mixture stand for a couple of hours so that it cools naturally.serve to put different foods together as part of a meal:
Serve with rice and a salad. Serve the aubergines on a bed of lettuce.tired feeling that you want to sleep or rest:
I was really tired the next day. the tired faces of the childrenexhausted extremely tired:
I was exhausted after the long trip home. He sat down, exhausted. She immediately fell into an exhausted sleep.worn out [not before noun] very tired because you have been working hard:
With three small children to care for, she was always worn out.weary /ˈwɪəri $ ˈwɪr-/
written tired because you have been travelling, worrying, or doing something for a long time:
weary travellers a weary sigh He looks tired and weary after 20 years in office.fatigued formal very tired:
They were too fatigued to continue with the climb. Because of her illness, she often became fatigued.drained [not before noun] very tired and feeling as if all your energy has gone:
Afterwards, he felt drained, both physically and mentally.bushed/beat [not before noun] informal very tired:
I’m bushed. I think I’ll go to bed early. I’m beat. I don’t think I’ll go for a run tonight.knackered British English,
pooped American English [not before noun] informal very tired.
Knackered is a very informal use - do not use it in polite conversation:
By the time I got home I was absolutely knackered.shattered [not before noun] British English informal extremely tired:
When I first started teaching, I came home shattered every night.dead spoken extremely tired, so that you cannot do anything but sleep:
I was absolutely dead by the time I got home. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲