pound a beat

present singular third person pounds a beat · participle present pounding a beat · participle past pounded a beat · past pounded a beat

1. idiomaticOf a police officer, to walk a regular route.

   Assigned to the riverfront precinct for years, he pounded a beat of backstreets and dockyards.

   3 more examples

   Flat feet may be important to the patrolman who must pound a beat, but in cities with patrol cars, should mild cases of flat feet disqualify?

   1948, Alfred Haines Cope, The administration of civil service in cities of the third class in Pennsylvania, page 65

   You can't ask a college graduate who is interested in law enforcement to pound a beat for four years before he becomes a sergeant.

   1970, The Bench and Bar of Minnesota, volume 27, page 8

   I worked my way up from a flatfoot pounding a beat to where I am today. I like being a cop, I'm proud of being a cop.

   2012, Frank Kane, Grave Danger, section 14

2. idiomaticOf a journalist, to cover a regular beat, reporting on an assigned category of news.

   Assigned to the city desk for years, she pounded a beat of city council and mayoral activity, police blotters, and the like.