Link Centre Dictionary

Beatles

beat·les

UK/ˈbiːtəlz/ US/ˈbɪi̯tʰəlz] ~ [ˈbɪi̯tʰl̩z/ fairly common

noun

1.

a rock group from Liverpool who between 1962 and 1970 produced a variety of hit songs and albums (most of it written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon)

Origin

Originally spelled Beatals, punningly referencing the expression beat all (“surpass everything”), then later altered to Beatles, blend of beat + beetles, with beat referring to "beat music" or the "beat" of a drum, and beetles inspired by the contemporaneous band name The Crickets.

Related words

Broader terms

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.