beast

noun \ ˈbēst \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 2018

Examples: beast in a Sentence

Definition of beast

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

See beast defined for English-language learners

See beast defined for kids

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

The writers of the Bible likened these empires to great mutant beasts, with sharp fangs, powerful claws and multiple heads.

— rachel held evans, Washington Post, "The Bible is literature for the resistance," 12 July 2018
Then Donald Trump ran, without making any of the usual conservative promises to starve the beast, and won.

— The Economist, "Fork in the roadShould the party move to the left or to the centre?," 12 July 2018
What a beast! #SWAPteam pic.twitter.com/4h2czSKWMT — David Roche (@MountainRoche) May 20, 2018 The change of focus has been wonderful.

— andrew skurka, Outside Online, "How to Avoid Overtraining," 3 July 2018
If you, too, are disturbed by your own crush on Dan Stevens as a literal beast, maybe this gif of him in a CGI outfit will help.

— mehera bonner, Marie Claire, "The Best Daniel Movies Ranked by Overwhelming Hotness," 1 June 2018
Supreme is a $1 billion capitalist beast, and Kanye is politically fraught in so many ways.

— samuel hine, GQ, "How “Come Tees” Went From Kanye Co-Sign to Fashion Cult Craze," 30 May 2018
Again, the force of his words bounded through the narrow alley like gunshots, and again the thing that had been Lenny snarled like a beast, running its hand possessively over the veteran’s discolored face.

— wesley snipes, The Root, "Talon of God," 27 May 2018
Sometime between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, a giant ground sloth—a hairy, lumbering beast that weighed as much as a metric ton—wandered along a lakeshore in what is now southern New Mexico.

— sid perkins, Science | AAAS, "Ancient human-sloth hunt hinted at in 15,000-year-old footprints," 25 Apr. 2018
While surprisingly dark and a smidgen too earnest at times, Rampage wraps silly spectacle around its emotional core: a bromance between man and beast.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "Review: Relentlessly silly 'Rampage' unleashes monster animals and Dwayne Johnson," 11 Apr. 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.