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beat around the bush

beat a·round the bush
B b

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [beet uh-round stressed th ee boo sh]
    • /bit əˈraʊnd stressed ði bʊʃ/
    • /biːt əˈraʊnd ðə bʊʃ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [beet uh-round stressed th ee boo sh]
    • /bit əˈraʊnd stressed ði bʊʃ/

Definitions of beat around the bush words

  • noun beat around the bush to talk around a subject without getting to the point 3
  • noun beat around the bush a low plant with many branches that arise from or near the ground. 1
  • noun beat around the bush a small cluster of shrubs appearing as a single plant. 1
  • noun beat around the bush something resembling or suggesting this, as a thick, shaggy head of hair. 1
  • noun beat around the bush Also called bush lot. Canadian. a small, wooded lot, especially a farm lot with trees left standing to provide firewood, fence posts, etc. 1
  • noun beat around the bush the tail of a fox; brush. 1
See all 22 definitions of beat around the bush

Information block about the term

Origin of beat around the bush

First appearance:

before 1000
One of the 6% oldest English words
before 1000; Middle English busshe, Old English busc (in place-names); cognate with Dutch bos wood, German Busch, Old Norse buskr bush

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Beat around the bush

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Beat around the bush

beat around the bush popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 98% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

beat around the bush usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for beat around the bush

verb beat around the bush

  • dodge — to elude or evade by a sudden shift of position or by strategy: to dodge a blow; to dodge a question.
  • confound — If someone or something confounds you, they make you feel surprised or confused, often by showing you that your opinions or expectations of them were wrong.
  • thwart — to oppose successfully; prevent from accomplishing a purpose.
  • puzzle — a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.
  • outwit — to get the better of by superior ingenuity or cleverness; outsmart: to outwit a dangerous opponent.
All 139 Synonyms of beat around the bush

Antonyms for beat around the bush

verb beat around the bush

  • aid — Aid is money, equipment, or services that are provided for people, countries, or organizations who need them but cannot provide them for themselves.
  • assist — If you assist someone, you help them to do a job or task by doing part of the work for them.
  • abet — If one person abets another, they help or encourage them to do something criminal or wrong. Abet is often used in the legal expression 'aid and abet'.
  • attract — If something attracts people or animals, it has features that cause them to come to it.
  • confront — If you are confronted with a problem, task, or difficulty, you have to deal with it.
All 28 Antonyms of beat around the bush

See also

Matching words

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