Definition of BEATNIK

Examples of beatnik in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Biographies of Chuck Berry, Hank Williams and Ray Charles compete for space on his shelves alongside beatnik tomes by Kerouac and Burroughs, and even a copy of Spoken Urdu. — Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, "New Book of Jeff Buckley’s Journals and Belongings Offers a Vivid Self-Portrait of the Late Artist," 31 Oct. 2019 Perhaps in response the free surfer has turned ever more scraggly-haired, more rambling beatnik. — Jamie Brisick, The New Yorker, "Surfing in the Age of the Omnipresent Camera," 26 Aug. 2019 The ecstatic transport here was as much to Fluxus as to the San Francisco beatnik clubs of the 1950s. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: At Descanso Gardens, music meets nature and ‘Silence’ means many things," 8 Sep. 2019 And his costumes harmonized with Mardi Gras Indians and French Quarter beatniks and bluesmen and the legend of a voodoo priest. — Doug Maccash, nola.com, "The world reacts to Dr. John’s death," 6 June 2019 Also, the Cool Post Office was founded in 1885, so Todd must have either been a very forward-thinking beatnik, or a time-traveling one. — Ken Jennings, Condé Nast Traveler, "Of Course California Has a Town Named 'Cool'," 28 May 2018 Few can actually wear one on a regular basis without looking like a pretentious beatnik. — Julie Ma, The Cut, "10 Times Celebrities Wore Berets," 1 Mar. 2018 These beatnik businessmen were precursors to the libertarians who turned broadly toward the counterculture in the 1960s. — Jeet Heer, New Republic, "The Case for “Retreatism” in the Trump Era," 15 Feb. 2018 This month’s events in the city encompass everything from the Castro Street Fair to the week-long Litquake, a chance to indulge your inner beatnik. — Mark Ellwood, CNT, "Best Places to Travel in October," 5 Sep. 2017

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

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Last Updated

29 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Beatnik.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beatnik. Accessed 26 January 2020.

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beatnik