Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

skip a beat

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.15 in modern English

Syllables: skip a beat
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To miss a beat.

verb

To experience a strong emotion.

verb

To momentarily falter.

Example Sentences

"My heart seemed to skip a beat when I parked my car at the old Safeway supermarket. My eyes gaped at the same aisles I had strolled through as a child."
"Her heart seemed to skip a beat. "Halte!" the soldier ordered in a stern voice."
"What set it apart and caused my heart to skip a beat were the words printed where the artist's signature usually goes, […]"
"THE MEGHA HAD BEEN on the water for some three hours when Piya heard the engine skip a beat."
"Indeed, he did not skip a beat, stayed right with his training regimen, and flew out to Seattle on August 8."

Inflected Forms

skips a beat (present, singular) skipping a beat (participle, present) skipped a beat (participle, past) skipped a beat (past)

Questions

What does skip a beat mean?: To miss a beat.

How to pronounce skip a beat

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “skip a beat”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “skip a beat”.
Repeat and practice — Say “skip a beat” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.