beat off

Idioms and Phrases

Repulse, drive away by blows, as in We tried to beat off the flying ants swarming about us . Originating in the mid-1600s in a military context, this term was being used for other activities by the mid-1700s.

Related Words

• chide
• deny
• dismiss
• disregard
• fend off
• ignore
• oppose
• rebuke
• refuse
• reject
• repudiate
• resist
• snub
• spurn
• turn down