beat about the bush

beat a·bout the bush
UK/ˈbiːt əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/Canada, US/ˈbit əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/Australia/ˈbiːt əˌbæɔ̯t ðə bʊʃ/New Zealand/ˈbiːt əˌbæʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/

A form of beat around the bush — To treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbbeat about the bush (third-person singular simple present beats about the bush, present participle beating about the bush, simple past beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush, past participle beaten about the bush or (colloquial) beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush)

present singular third person beats about the bush · participle present beating about the bush · nonstandard past beated about the bush · participle past beaten about the bush · nonstandard participle past beated about the bush

  1. alternativeAlternative form of beat around the bush.

    "Meanwhile, we are sitting here starving. Let's not beat about the bush - we are absolutely living hand to mouth now on TfL.

    2020 July 15, Mike Brown talks to Paul Clifton, “Leading London's "hidden heroes"”, in Rail, page 42
    1 more example

    There is no use beating about the bush with a man like you. I know that. You are direct, and so am I. You know my position well enough to be assured that I am empowered to treat with you.

    1910 November, Jack London, Theft: A Play in Four Acts, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, Act II, page 107

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
prevaricate

Origin

From medieval English hunting practices. Some men would whack bushes with sticks to scare birds out so that others could hunt them. Beating the bush directly could be dangerous.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

beat about the bush. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beat%20about%20the%20bush

MLA

“beat about the bush.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beat%20about%20the%20bush. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beat about the bush,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beat%20about%20the%20bush.

Source: beat about the bush on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.