on the beat

English[edit]

(law enforcement) Of a police officer: patrolling his or her assigned area; on duty.
- 2021 March 20, Kim Barker, Mike Baker, Ali Watkins, “In City After City, Police Completely Mishandled Black Lives Matter Protests”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:
  From midsize departments like the one in Indianapolis to big-city forces like New York City's, from top commanders to officers on the beat, police officers nationwide were unprepared to calm the summer's unrest, and their approaches consistently did the opposite.
(slang, euphemistic) Synonym of on the game (“working as a prostitute”)
- 2020, Mark Hughes, A Greater Passion: Lessons on Living Large in Life and Love:
  Well if she did blend in, she easily looked like the oldest prostitute on the beat.
In the correct rhythm or tempo

on duty