beat off

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beat off (third-person singular simple present beats off, present participle beating off, simple past beat off, past participle beaten off or beat off)

1. (transitive, now often figurative) To drive something away with blows or military force.
   • 1697, Carradoc Of Lhancarvan, The history of Wales, page 33:

     ...which Action did not so much grieve the English, as trouble and vex the Picts and Scots, who were incessantly gauled and frequently beat off by these Danish Troops.

   • 1954 November 27, “Red Assault on Tiny Isle Beaten Off, Say Nationalists”, in The Daily Colonist‎, volume 96, number 294, Victoria, British Columbia, page 1, column 6:

     First reports were that the Reds, in five gunboats and swarms of junks, succeeded in landing on tiny Wuchiu in Formosa Strait, but were beaten off with many captured.

   • 1968 September, Betty & Me, volume 16, Archie Comics, front cover:

     (Betty) Did you have any trouble rescuing me?
     (Archie) I sure did, Betty! I had to beat off three other guys!

   • 2021 September 22, “National Rail Awards 2021: London Liverpool Street - Network Rail”, in RAIL, number 940, page 47:

     London Liverpool Street beat off stiff competition to be highly commended in this category, despite having had no major redevelopment for three decades.

2. (intransitive, idiomatic, vulgar, colloquial, chiefly US, Canada) To masturbate, usually a man of himself; to manually stimulate one's own penis.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:masturbate

   • 2003, David Burke, The Slangman guide to dirty English: dangerous expressions Americans use, page 13:

     Example 1: "I don't need a girlfriend. I just need some swimsuit catalogs, so I can beat off six or seven times a day."

3. (intransitive, idiomatic, vulgar, colloquial) To waste time.

   I beat off at work all day; I didn't get anything done.

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