beast

noun

\ˈbēst

Definition of beast

1a : 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

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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

Another is the nature of the beast: many cogs have to mesh to match people and ads in real-time. — The Economist, "Who will be the main loser from Europe’s new data-privacy law?," 24 May 2018 The Lochness-like monster is a popular feature in some Georgia folklore, and the beached specimen shows similarities to artists' renderings of the beast. — Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "Strange Sea Creature Washes Ashore, Stumps Scientists," 21 Mar. 2018 Competing interests are the nature of the beast in the tech business, even in these still relatively early days for Internet of Things. — Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, "A smart home sounds like a great idea. So why is it still so complicated?," 12 Jan. 2018 The teacher was an elegant, soft-spoken woman, which was fortunate, because the language was a beast. — Thomas Swick, Longreads, "Letters from Trenton," 5 July 2018 Spinosaurus Spinosaurus was the largest land predator that ever lived, a scary-looking beast with a long crocodile snout and a huge sail on its back. — Emma Stefansky, GQ, "The Definitive Jurassic Park Dinosaur Power Rankings," 21 June 2018 Thompson was a beast in Game 7 as a starter (15 points, 10 rebounds). — cleveland.com, "The Cavaliers and Raptors are playing again in the Eastern Conference semifinals: The matchups," 30 Apr. 2018 Paleontologists rarely find a complete skeleton from a prehistoric beast. — Kristin Hugo, Newsweek, "Scientists Are Studying Rotting Animal Carcasses to Understand Why Complete Dinosaur Fossils Are So Rare," 21 Mar. 2018 Not long after Elon Musk’s Tesla built the world’s largest lithium-ion battery—the Hornsdale Power Reserve, which has a rating of 129 megawatt hours—a British industrialist has stepped in with plans for a 140-megawatt-hour beast. — David Meyer, Fortune, "Tesla Built the World's Biggest Battery. Now This Billionaire Has Plans to Beat It," 16 Mar. 2018

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