beast

noun

ˈbēst 

1

a

: a four-footed mammal as distinguished from a human being, a lower vertebrate, and an invertebrate

b

: a lower animal as distinguished from a human being

c

: an animal as distinguished from a plant

d

: an animal under human control

2

: a contemptible person

3

: something formidably difficult to control or deal with

Synonyms

• brute
• villain
• monster
• savage
• devil

Examples of beast in a Sentence

dogs and other four-footed beasts

the birds and beasts of the forest

They were attacked by a savage beast.

He's a cruel, hateful beast!

Recent Examples on the Web

Starting Friday, there will be no poolside downtime at Bethpage Black, an angry and outsized beast of a public golf course. —Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025

Girls are always marrying beasts in fairy tales. —Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025

This is a magnificent beast, made by a British company, Cinetech, and its job is to clean film. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025

In the trailer, Mando and Grogu meet Weaver and White’s characters and fight a variety of evil robots and sci-fi beasts. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English beste, from Anglo-French, from Latin bestia

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing beast

• beast epic
• beast fable
• beast mode
• beast of burden
• different beast
• go beast mode
• the belly of the beast

Rhymes for beast

• ceased
• creased
• east
• feast
• fleeced
• geest
• greased
• leased
• least
• pieced
• priest
• yeast

Kids Definition

beast

noun

ˈbēst 

1

a

: a four-footed mammal as distinguished from human beings and from lower animals both with and without backbones

b

: a farm animal especially when kept for heavy work

2

: a mean or brutal person