beat around the bush
Syllables: beat a·round the bushUK/ˈbiːt əˌɹaʊ̯nd ðə bʊʃ/US/ˈbit əˌɹaʊ̯nd ðə bʊʃ/
beat around the bush verb: to treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally.
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!
- "Look here," said Smith, menacingly, "if you think I cheated you, you might as well say so right out. I don't like beating around the bush."1870, Horatio Alger, Rufus and Rose
- Synonyms:
- go around the houses, prevaricate, pussyfoot, ramble, tergiversate, waffle
- Antonyms:
- cut to the chase, get on with, get to the point
beat around the bush meaning in Tamil, Tagalog, Arabic and Vietnamese
beat around the bush in Tamil
- to treat a topic but omit its main points
- சுற்றிவளை cuṟṟivaḷai
- to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant
- சுற்றிவளை cuṟṟivaḷai
beat around the bush in Tagalog
- to treat a topic but omit its main points
- pasikut-sikot, magpaligoy-ligoy, lumigoy-ligoy
- to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant
- pasikut-sikot
beat around the bush in Arabic
- to treat a topic but omit its main points
- لَفَّ وَدَارَ laffa wadāra
- to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant
- لَفَّ وَدَارَ laffa wadāra
beat around the bush in Vietnamese
- to treat a topic but omit its main points
- nói gần nói xa chẳng qua nói thật
- to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant
- vòng vo tam quốc
Synonyms of beat around the bush
Antonyms
Forms of beat around the bush
| third-person singular present | beats around the bush |
|---|---|
| present participle | beating around the bush |
| past | beat around the bush |
| past participle | beaten around the bush |
| alternative form | beat about the bush |
| past (nonstandard) | beated around the bush |
| past participle (colloquial) | beat around the bush |
| past participle (nonstandard) | beated around the bush |
Origin of beat around the bush
From the older form beat about the bush, replacing the preposition.
Questions about beat around the bush
- What does beat around the bush mean?
- Beat around the bush means to treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally.
- What is beat around the bush in Tamil?
- Beat around the bush in Tamil is சுற்றிவளை (cuṟṟivaḷai). See Beat around the bush meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is beat around the bush?
- Beat around the bush is a verb.
- How do you pronounce beat around the bush?
- Beat around the bush is pronounced /ˈbiːt əˌɹaʊ̯nd ðə bʊʃ/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of beat around the bush?
- The past tense of beat around the bush is beat around the bush.
Words near beat around the bush in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: 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: en-au-beat around the bush.ogg.
Cite this entry: “beat around the bush.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/beat_around_the_bush. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.