beating

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The action by which someone or something is beaten.

   “the beating of a drum”

   “secret beatings of prisoners”

   “[…] to support or agree with the persecutions, beatings, dehumanizings, insults, murders, genocides, and oppressions of a perpetrator's target […]”

   ““It was one of the most severe beatings they’ve seen on tape,” an FDNY insider said, recalling the reaction by brass who viewed video of the bloody fisticuffs.”

   “The fight is not all one-sided. Lion is taking a savage beating as the two flagships trade body blows almost independent of the furious carronade going on behind them.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A heavy defeat or setback.

   “To increase United's pain, this was their first home defeat in any competition since April 2010, when they lost to Chelsea - but even that defeat, which effectively cost them the title, may not turn out to have the same long-term significance as this heavy beating.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The pulsation of the heart.

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of beat