From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbeat timebeat timeAPMto make regular movements or sounds to show the speed at which music should be played a conductor beating time with his baton → beat
Examples from the Corpus
beat time• In employment systems, after all, people are not mustered to play together as their manager beats time.• Significantly, he follows the use of conducteur by recalling more recent occasions on which he beat time.• It is not true that elsewhere they obey it without beating it, since one beats time wherever choruses are sung.• a conductor beating time with his baton• The lord began to tap his foot and beat time with his hand against his thigh.• At one stage, he joined her, pacing with her, beating time with one hand. 