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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

skip a beat en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (literally) To miss a beat.
  2. (broadly, of a heart) To experience a strong emotion.
    • What set it apart and caused my heart to skip a beat were the words printed where the artist's signature usually goes, […] 2001, Linda Bremner, love in the mail:
    • My heart seemed to skip a beat when I parked my car at the old Safeway supermarket. My eyes gaped at the same aisles I had strolled through as a child. 1997, David J. Pelzer, The lost boy: a foster child's search for the love of a family:
    • Her heart seemed to skip a beat. "Halte!" the soldier ordered in a stern voice. 1989, Lois Lowry, Number the stars:
  3. (broadly, idiomatic) To momentarily falter.
    • Indeed, he did not skip a beat, stayed right with his training regimen, and flew out to Seattle on August 8. 2008, Alan Howard Levy, Floyd Patterson: a boxer and a gentleman:
    • THE MEGHA HAD BEEN on the water for some three hours when Piya heard the engine skip a beat. 2005, Amitav Ghosh, The hungry tide:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
skipping a beat Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
skips a beat Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
skipped a beat Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
skipped a beat Tense=Past lexicographic