SINCE 1828

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1

beach

noun \ ˈbēch \

Definition of beach

1 :shore pebbles :shingle

2 a :a shore of a body of water covered by sand, gravel, or larger rock fragments

b :a seashore area

See beach defined for English-language learners

See beach defined for kids

Examples of beach in a Sentence

We spent the day at the beach.
she loves walking along the beach, looking for shells that the waves cast up

Recent Examples of beach from the Web

Expert fix: Look for SPF 50 or higher to keep skin protected daily — rain or shine, beach or office.

— nicole catanese, Cosmopolitan, "The 8 Most Annoying Skin Problems Every Girl Deals With," 24 Aug. 2017
Every Tuesday night the beach club fills up with eager dancers-in-training who want to learn the steps to the South Carolina state dance.

— Southern Living, "If You're in Myrtle Beach, You Must Shag Here," 20 Aug. 2017
Police are investigating whether the attacks are linked to an earlier incident in Alcanar, a beach town 120 miles south of Barcelona, where a house that may have been the site of a terrorist cell exploded, killing one and wounding seven others.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Massive Manhunt Underway After Barcelona Attacks Kill 13," 18 Aug. 2017
Last year, with Mered out of the trade, a hundred and eighty thousand refugees and migrants reached Italy by sea, almost all of them leaving from the beaches near Tripoli.

— annabelle timsit, The Atlantic, "Postcard From Dresden and India's Pilgrims: The Week in Global-Affairs Writing," 18 Aug. 2017
The design depicts a group of sea animals — a seal, sea otter, pelican, great blue heron and an octopus — coming together and helping one another clean the ocean and a beach.

— anthony clark carpio, Burbank Leader, "Burbank Rose Parade volunteers busy constructing 2018 float," 18 Aug. 2017
The state parks department owns about six of Carlsbad’s seven miles of coastline, including the campground on the city’s southwestern end and the beach along the seawall between Oak and Tamarack avenues.

— phil diehl, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Carlsbad takes another look at state land swap," 18 Aug. 2017
Pictures by Bill King and Rico Puhlmann brimmed with warmth and energy, as models smiled, jumped, ran, and skipped on sandy beaches.

— stephen mooallem, Harper's BAZAAR, "Free Love and Fashion," 18 Aug. 2017
Barbecue, beach bars, bean bags, hammocks, line dancing and more are part of the festival, which will run from noon to 9 p.m. at Pacific Coast Highway and Brookhurst Street.

— daily pilot staff, Huntington Beach Independent, "Coastal Country Jam music festival returns to Huntington State Beach on Saturday," 8 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beach.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of beach

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1535

See Words from the same year

beach Synonyms

Synonyms

beachfront, sand (s), strand

Related Words

seaboard, seacoast, seashore, seaside; coast, coastland, coastline, shore, shoreline; oceanfront, shorefront, waterfront; bank, riverbank, riverfront, riverside; esplanade; littoral; lido, plage

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

2

beach

verb

Definition of beach

transitive verb

1 :to run or drive ashore

beaching the landing craft in the assault

The storm damaged and beached half the fleet.

2 :to strand on or as if on a beach

a beached shark

See beach defined for English-language learners

Examples of beach in a Sentence

The pirates beached the ship on the island.

Recent Examples of beach from the Web

The NGO describes the trade at many yards as toxic because vessels are beached at high tide, then ripped apart by workers who can be exposed to dangerous chemicals.

— r.t. watson, Bloomberg.com, "Brazil to Crack Down on Ships Sold Into `Toxic' Scrap Trade," 24 Aug. 2017
Lifeguards, Bellevue beaches ONGOING Life guards on duty, weather permitting; noon-7 p.m. daily, Newcastle, 4400 Lake Washington Blvd.

— madeline mckenzie, The Seattle Times, "Community calendar: festivals, fairs and more," 17 Aug. 2017
Equinac said that the animal had likely beached itself in Mojácar after becoming sick or separated from its mother, but that tourists should have contacted the charity instead of posing for photos.

— rachel lewis, Time, "Tourists Held a Beached Baby Dolphin for Selfies. It Soon Died," 17 Aug. 2017
Midweek trips to beach towns: a really good reason to work remotely.

— mark byrne, GQ, "5 Secrets to Working From Anywhere that Isn't Your Office," 15 Aug. 2017
Crowdfunders donated $235,598 to AquaVault, which plans to produce a new version of its portable safe that can be attached to beach chairs or other objects, safely storing electronics, wallets and other valuables.

— nancy dahlberg, miamiherald, "Yes, it’s safe to go into the water with this startup’s invention," 8 Aug. 2017
When his crew reported the fire, Captain William Van Schaick continued to steer the Slocum upriver for two minutes before beaching, allowing survivors to jump to safety.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "A Brief History of 10 Essential Presidential Pardons," 2 Aug. 2017
Ocean City has been the go-to beach destination for vacationers for generations.

— reed shelton, baltimoresun.com, "Ocean City toplessness activist says she's been assaulted, groped — but never while topless," 2 July 2017
Midday, boats are beached on an island where guides cook steak and chicken over a fire.

— beth harpaz, chicagotribune.com, "Vacation in Maine? Water, woods, the arts and adventure," 23 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beach.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of beach

verbal derivative of ¹beach

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1799

See Words from the same year

Other Nautical Terms

avast, aweigh, flotsam, jib, keel, lee, port, starboard, stay

BEACH Defined for English Language Learners

beach

noun

Definition of beach for English Language Learners

: an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake

beach

verb

Definition of beach for English Language Learners

: to cause (a boat or ship) to go out of the water and onto a beach

BEACH Defined for Kids

1

beach

noun \ ˈbēch \

Definition of beach for Students

:a sandy or gravelly part of the shore of an ocean or a lake

2

beach

verb

Definition of beach for Students

beached; beaching

:to run or drive ashore

beach a boat

Learn More about beach

See words that rhyme with beach Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for beach Spanish Central: Translation of beach Nglish: Translation of beach for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of beach for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about beach

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Examples: beach in a Sentence