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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

pound a beat en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) Of a police officer, to walk a regular route.
    • I worked my way up from a flatfoot pounding a beat to where I am today. I like being a cop, I'm proud of being a cop. 2012, Frank Kane, Grave Danger, section 14:
    • You can't ask a college graduate who is interested in law enforcement to pound a beat for four years before he becomes a sergeant. 1970, The Bench and Bar of Minnesota, volume 27, page 8:
    • Assigned to the riverfront precinct for years, he pounded a beat of backstreets and dockyards.
    • Flat feet may be important to the patrolman who must pound a beat, but in cities with patrol cars, should mild cases of flat feet disqualify? 1948, Alfred Haines Cope, The administration of civil service in cities of the third class in Pennsylvania, page 65:
  2. (idiomatic) Of a journalist, to cover a regular beat, reporting on an assigned category of news.
    • Assigned to the city desk for years, she pounded a beat of city council and mayoral activity, police blotters, and the like.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
pounding a beat Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
pounded a beat Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
pounded a beat Tense=Past lexicographic
pounds a beat Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic

Relateds

pound the pavement · shoe-leather