beat somebody to the punch
US /biːt ˈsʌm.bə.di tuː ðə pʌntʃ/
UK /biːt ˈsʌm.bə.di tuː ðə pʌntʃ/
1.
抢先一步, 先发制人
to do something before someone else does it, especially to gain an advantage
:
•
I was about to suggest that, but you beat me to the punch.
我正要提议，但你抢先一步了。
•
The rival company tried to beat us to the punch by launching their product earlier.
竞争对手公司试图通过提前发布产品来抢在我们前面。