English Reference

win vs beat

Win takes the activity or prize as its direct object, whereas beat takes the opponent as its direct object.

win

to be victorious in a competition

Our local football team managed to win the championship last night.

beat

to defeat a specific opponent

The reigning champion is difficult to beat on a grass court.

Watch out

  • It was a very close match, but we finally beat.

    It was a very close match, but we finally won.

  • The blue team played well and won the red team.

    The blue team played well and beat the red team.

Remember Win the game; beat the player.

Quick check

Fill the gap with one of the two options.

  1. 1.

    She worked incredibly hard to the first prize in the tournament.

  2. 2.

    We need a better strategy if we want to our rivals.

More like this in Everyday pairs.