Portuguese

Verb

bater ‎(first-person singular present indicative bato, past participle batido)

1. (transitive with em) to beat; to beat up (to attack someone violently)

   O valentão gosta de bater nos colegas mais fracos.‎

   The bully likes to beat his weaker classmates up.

2. (intransitive or transitive with em or contra or a reciprocal pronoun) to hit; to strike (to collide with violently)

   O pássaro bateu no vidro e morreu.‎

   The bird hit the glass and died.

   As pedras de gelo batiam contra o telhado.‎

   The hailstones were striking the roof.

   Os aviões se bateram no ar.‎

   The aeroplanes collided in mid-air.

   Os aviões bateram no ar.‎

   The aeroplanes collided in mid-air.

3. (transitive) to crash (to cause something to collide)

   Liguei para a emergência porque bati o carro.‎

   I called emergency because I crashed the car.

4. (transitive) to clap (to repeatedly strike two objects, especially the hands)

   Não creio que a audiência baterá as palmas.‎

   I don’t think the audience will clap their hands.

5. (transitive with em or a) to knock on (to hit an object rhythmically in order to get someone’s attention)

   Bati na janela do meu amigo para ele acordar.‎

   I knocked on my friend’s window so he would wake up.

6. (music, transitive with em or with no preposition) to beat (to play a percussion instrument)

   Eu bato tambor em todos os eventos do nosso clube.‎

   I play the drum at all our club’s events.

7. (transitive) to close something (such as a door or drawer) violently

   Ela ficou brava, correu para o seu quarto e bateu a porta.‎

   She got angry, ran to her room and smashed the door.

8. (Brazil, transitive) to snap (to create a photograph)

   Pedi a um turista para bater uma foto de nós.‎

   I asked a tourist to snap a photo of us.

9. (chiefly military, transitive) to scout (to explore a wide terrain)

   O general mandou os cavaleiros baterem o terreno à frente para evitar uma emboscada.‎

   The general ordered the horsemen to scout the region ahead in order to prevent an ambush.

10. (cooking, transitive) to whisk; to whip; to beat (to mix in a rapid aerating fashion)

    Bata uns ovos para fazer omelete.‎

    Whisk some eggs to make omelette.

11. (transitive) to flail an object, such as a rug or piece of clothing, in order to remove dust or water from it

    O tapete estava tão empoeirado que quando o batemos levantou uma nuvem de poeira.‎

    The rug was so dusty that when we flailed it a cloud of dust appeared.

12. (Brazil, informal, impersonal, transitive) to get a feeling, especially one that is not very strong

    Corri uns dez quilómetros antes de bater um cansaço.‎

    I ran for ten kilometres before I got a little tired.

13. (transitive with para) to rush to (to go somewhere very fast)

    Se começar a chover, bate para dentro de casa.‎

    If it starts to rain, rush into the house.

14. (transitive with em) to shine on (of a light); to be cast over (of a shadow)

    A sombra do balão bate bem na gente.‎

    The balloon cast its shadow right over us.

    O sol bate nessa parede durante a tarde.‎

    The sunlight shines on this wall during the afternoon.

15. (intransitive) of the heart: to beat; to pulsate

    Meu coração batia a mil.‎

    My heart was beating really fast.

16. (transitive) to beat; to flutter; to flap (to move one’s wings)

    Beija-flores batem suas asas muito rápido.‎

    Hummingbirds beat their wings very fast.

17. (transitive) to beat; to defeat

    Nosso time consegue bater o teu.‎

    Our team can beat yours.

18. (transitive) to beat (to achieve a better value than)

    Ninguém conseguiu bater o record.‎

    No one was able to beat the record.

19. (transitive with em) to reach a value

    O preço da maçã está batendo nos cinquenta centavos.‎

    The price of the apple is reaching fifty cents.

    Durante a enchente, a água bateu na nossa cintura.‎

    During the flood, the water reached our waists.

20. (takes a reflexive pronoun, intransitive, or transitive with em) to struggle (with) (to have difficulty in doing something)

    Eu me bati por algumas horas na tarefa de matemática antes de desistir.‎

    I struggled with the maths homework for a few hours before I gave up.

21. (intransitive, or transitive with com) to match (to be equal or corresponding)

    Os nosso resultados não batem com os deles.‎

    Our results don’t match theirs.

22. (association football, transitive) to perform a game-restarting kick (such as a penalty kick or free kick)

    Nenhum dos jogadores quis se arriscar a bater o pênalti.‎

    None of our players wanted to perform the penalty kick.

23. (Brazil, slang, transitive) to pick; to pickpocket (to steal something by sleight of hand)

    Uns pivetes batiam carteiras na praia.‎

    Some urchins were picking wallets at the beach.

24. (transitive with em) of a special occasion: to occur in a given date

    Esse ano o natal baterá num sábado.‎

    This year Christmas will be on a Saturday.

25. (combat sports, intransitive) to tap out (to punch or tap the floor, indicating submission)

    O boxeador bateu no segundo round.‎

    The boxes tapped out on the second round.

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:bater.

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (to beat up): arrebentar
• (to collide with): colidir
• (to play a percussion instrument): batucar, percutir
• (to snap a photograph): tirar, fazer
• (to scout): explorar
• (to rush to): correr para/até
• (to shine or be cast on): incidir em/sobre
• (to pulsate): pulsar
• (to defeat): derrotar, acabar com
• (to achieve a better value than): superar
• (to reach a value): alcançar
• (to struggle): debater-se
• (to match): conferir (com)
• (to occur in a given date): cair em

Derived terms