beachcomber

noun

beach·​comb·​er ˈbēch-ˌkō-mər 

plural beachcombers

1

: a person who searches along a shore (as for seashells, driftwood, or salable refuse)

2

dated : a non-Indigenous person (such as a European castaway or convict) living as a drifter or loafer especially on the islands of the South Pacific (such as Micronesia)

beachcomb

ˈbēch-ˌkōm 

intransitive verb

beachcombed; beachcombing; beachcombs

Beachcombing for antique blue glass beads …

—Karl Luntta

My mother loved to beachcomb after high tide on stormy days …

—Motor Boating & Sailing

Examples of beachcomber in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In crowded Chaweng Beach, this 26-room hotel’s high style attracts a stream of beachcombers (prepare to show your key to the hotel gatekeeper). — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Oct. 2026

Travel + Leisure also spotted Pismo Beach’s plethora of tide pools, where beachcombers can find sea stars, crabs, anemones and more when the tide is low. — Sacbee.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Lucky beachcombers may even come across rarities like Scotch bonnet and moon snails. — Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 15 June 2026

Prompting that delay was beachcomber Jacob Bridgeman, who failed to cleanly hit off the shoreline flanking the 18th green en route to bogey. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for beachcomber

• misnomer
• sarcoma
• angiosarcoma
• osteosarcoma
• chondrosarcoma
• enantiomer
• fibrosarcoma
• lymphosarcoma
• comber
• gomer
• omer
• vomer

Kids Definition

beachcomber

noun

beach·​comb·​er ˈbēch-ˌkō-mər 

1

: a drifter or loafer especially on a South Pacific island

2

: a person who searches along a beach (as for seashells or items to sell)