Definition of beast
1a : a four-footed mammal as distinguished from a human being, a lower vertebrate, and an invertebrateb : a lower animal as distinguished from a human beingc : an animal as distinguished from a plantd : an animal under human control
2 : a contemptible person
3 : something formidably difficult to control or deal with
From the M-W Editors
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 of beast from the Web
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Big and bad, mean and strong, they are considered the beasts of the NFL.
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Meanwhile, the most esoteric beasts in the GM family are running circles around the runty Bolt.
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Ike Anigbogu | C | UCLA | freshman Anigbogu is a beast in the paint.
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In the repertoire of Renaissance cartographers, fierce mythical beasts—from sea serpents to manticores—represented dangers of unknown worlds.
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During the past 14 years, the Spurs became a small-market beast, winning four of their five titles with Tim Duncan and Coach Gregg Popovich.
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Sunday, May 21 @ Houston (W, 8-6) Gomes activated beast mode as the Tribe capped a three-game sweep -- and not just any sweep: on the road, against the team that entered the series with MLB's best record (29-15 after the sweep).
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With smart marketing, Nyoni's bold fusion of folklore, social comment, magical realism and her own family heritage could even translate into breakout word-of-mouth success akin to the tonally similar Beasts of the Southern Wild.
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And of course Arx Pax will keep a few on hand for demonstrations, but these will continue to be very rare beasts.
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.
Origin and Etymology of beast
Middle English beste, from Anglo-French, from Latin bestia
Other Zoology Terms
BEAST Defined for English Language Learners
beast
playDefinition of beast for English Language Learners
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: an animal; especially : a wild animal that is large, dangerous, or unusual
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: an unkind or cruel person
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: a person or thing of a particular kind
BEAST Defined for Kids
beast
playDefinition of beast for Students
1 : a mammal with four feet (as a bear or deer) especially as distinguished from human beings beasts of the forest
2 : a wild animal that is large, dangerous, or unusual
3 : a farm animal especially when kept for work beasts of burden
4 : a horrid person
Learn More about beast
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See words that rhyme with beast Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for beast Spanish Central: Translation of beast Nglish: Translation of beast for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of beast for Arabic speakers
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