beat a path

idiom

: to make (a path) by walking over the ground many times
They beat a path through the woods to the stream.
—sometimes used figuratively
If you work hard and well, success will beat a path to your door.

Examples of beat a path in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
By Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan and Michael Gold Page A1 When Home Is Now the Front Line As war beat a path through southern and eastern Ukraine, most of the population fled. — Patrick Kingsley Amanda Taub Ben Shpigel Michael D. Shear, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024 As war beat a path through southern and eastern Ukraine, most of the population fled. — Emile Ducke Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024

Rhymes for beat a path

See All Rhymes for beat a path

Browse Nearby Words

beat a path
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Beat a path.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat%20a%20path. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

13 Unusually Long English Words

9 Superb Owl Words

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

13 Unusually Long English Words

9 Superb Owl Words
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
number-twelve-balloon
12-Letter Words Quiz A dozen words, a dozen letters each.
See All