beat at

beat at something

to strike out at something. He beat at his attacker to no avail. Lily beat at the snake, but didn't harm it.

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Marcel	mar-SEL (French), MAHR-tsel (Polish), MAHR-sel (Dutch, German)	French, Catalan, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German
Lughaidh	LOO-ee	Irish, Irish Mythology
Fredric	FRED-rik	English
Ware	[wɛə]
Katrien	kaht-REEN	Dutch
Harper	HAHR-pər	English