beat about the bush
Syllables: beat a·bout the bush/ˈbiːt əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/US/ˈbit əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/
beat about the bush is the alternative form of beat around the bush.
Meaning of beat around the bush
Verb
beat around the bush (third-person singular simple present beats around the bush, present participle beating around the bush, simple past beat around the bush or (nonstandard) beated around the bush, past participle beaten around the bush or (colloquial) beat around the bush or (nonstandard) beated around the bush)
- To treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally.
- To delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant.
- Just stop beating around the bush and tell me what the problem is!
- Synonyms:
- go around the houses, prevaricate, pussyfoot, ramble, tergiversate, waffle
- Antonyms:
- cut to the chase, get on with, get to the point
Forms of beat about the bush
| third-person singular present | beats about the bush |
|---|---|
| present participle | beating about the bush |
| past | beat about the bush |
| past participle | beaten about the bush |
| past (nonstandard) | beated about the bush |
| past participle (colloquial) | beat about the bush |
| past participle (nonstandard) | beated about the bush |
Origin of beat about the bush
From medieval English hunting practices. Some men would whack bushes with sticks to scare birds out so that others could hunt them. Beating the bush directly could be dangerous.
Questions about beat about the bush
- What is beat about the bush the alternative form of?
- Beat about the bush is the alternative form of beat around the bush.
- How do you pronounce beat about the bush?
- Beat about the bush is pronounced /ˈbiːt əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/ (UK).
Words near beat about the bush in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: beat about the bush (page history and authors); beat around the bush (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-beat about the bush.wav.
Cite this entry: “beat about the bush.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/beat_about_the_bush. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.