Jump To:

• beach
  beach

  noun

  an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.
• Beach
  Beach

  noun

  Alfred Ely, 1826–96, U.S. editor, publisher, and inventor.

beach

¹ American  

[beech] / bitʃ /

noun

beaches plural

1. an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.

2. the part of the shore of an ocean, sea, large river, lake, etc., washed by the tide or waves.

   Synonyms:

   littoral, strand, seashore, coast

3. the area adjacent to a seashore.

   We're vacationing at the beach.

---

verb (used with object)

beaches, present (3rd person singular) beached, past participle, past beaching present participle

1. Nautical. to haul or run onto a beach.

   We beached the ship to save it.

2. to make inoperative or unemployed.

   Synonyms:

   ground

Beach ² American  

[beech] / bitʃ /

noun

1. Alfred Ely, 1826–96, U.S. editor, publisher, and inventor.

2. Amy Marcey Cheney 1867–1944, U.S. composer and pianist.

3. Moses Yale, 1800–68, U.S. newspaper publisher.

4. Rex Ellingwood 1877–1949, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

5. Sylvia Woodbridge, 1887–1962, U.S. bookseller and publisher in France.

---

beach British  

/ biːtʃ /

noun

1. an extensive area of sand or shingle sloping down to a sea or lake, esp the area between the high- and low-water marks on a seacoast

---

verb

1. to run or haul (a boat) onto a beach

beach Scientific  

/ bēch /

1. The area of accumulated sand, stone, or gravel deposited along a shore by the action of waves and tides. Beaches usually slope gently toward the body of water they border and have a concave shape. They extend landward from the low water line to the point where there is a distinct change in material (as in a line of vegetation) or in land features (as in a cliff).

---

Synonym Usage

See shore ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• beachless
  adjective
• unbeached
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beaches
  plural

Participles

• beaching
  present
• beached
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• beach
  simple
• beaches
  simple
• have beached
  perfect
• has beached
  perfect
• am beaching
  progressive
• are beaching
  progressive
• is beaching
  progressive
• have been beaching
  perfect progressive
• has been beaching
  perfect progressive

Past

• beached
  simple
• had beached
  perfect
• was beaching
  progressive
• were beaching
  progressive
• had been beaching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will beach
  simple
• will have beached
  perfect
• will be beaching
  progressive
• will have been beaching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of beach

First recorded in 1525–35; of obscure origin

Explanation

You know that wide, flat patch of sand that leads down to the sea, or maybe even the lake? That's a beach, one of the most beautiful places in the world. During a long, stormy winter, a beach can erode and move. The word beach can also be used more generally to describe a town or vacation spot along the ocean or sea. In New Jersey, they call it the shore. But in lots of other places, people say they're going to the beach when they mean they are taking a trip to the seaside for vacation. Of course, if you beach your boat, you might not be overjoyed: that means you've run it aground, usually on a choice pile of sand.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beach Beach beaches beached beaching

A beach hazard statement is in effect through Wednesday afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Ahmed, who was packing the car up, said he was alerted to them drowning and rushed back to the beach.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Forecasters are urging beachgoers to check the surf forecast before choosing a beach, and to swim near a lifeguard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

With the scrape Debbie and Judith find themselves in, a beach holiday is out of the question.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

I glance down the stairs—and there is a little beach.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Fistral Beach is one of busiest beaches in the country and a surfing hotspot.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

This past spring, swimming was banned three times at Huntington Beach due to sharks deemed to be aggressive.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

California’s Port of Long Beach is considering the construction of a reactor to meet its growing need for electricity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

At lunch dockside in Boynton Beach, I see the flop of a manatee’s huge tail as it disappears below the surface.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

I watched the divers standing in the parking lot across from Back Beach.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Now a Category 4 hurricane and moving northwest with sustained winds of about 155 mph, Genevieve is expected to generate up to 11-foot swells by Wednesday afternoon along beaches that face south and southwest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The nomination included the five D-Day beaches known by their code names: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Every year, close to seven million tourists visit the Gironde region, which is popular for its sand dunes and beaches along the Atlantic coast, as well as its vineyards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Tourists told the BBC of emergency alerts in the middle of the night, desperate drives just metres from six-storey high flames and the sight of people flocking to beaches with their suitcases.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

More than at the crowded summer beaches in Provincetown.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

What’s more depressing is that a research biologist interviewed by KING-TV, Seattle’s NBC affiliate, stated that the beached whales people have encountered likely represent only a quarter to a fifth of the total death toll.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

At the toe of the bluff, the geotubes stretched out like a beached Leviathan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

Vonk and his team ensure the country is ready for extreme scenarios: a drought meaning all inland shipping is beached or a devastating storm surge.

From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025

Tasmania's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said 157 false killer whales had beached near Arthur River, in the island's north west.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2025

Janice Avery had given him nothing but trouble, and now he was feeling responsible for her—like one of the Burkes’ timber wolves or beached whales.

From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson

A humpback whale rescued after beaching itself in Germany has been found dead near a Danish island.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

A humpback whale that underwent a rescue operation in Germany two weeks ago after beaching itself there has been found dead near a Danish island, officials said Saturday.

From Barron's ● May 16, 2026

These beaching events confront us with a little-understood but essential facet of marine ecology — and may become more common as the oceans warm.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024

But besides beating seasonal crowds, winter beaching has another leg up on summer: storm watching.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2024

Carefully, we inched the Miss Amanda around the sandbar without beaching her until we were directly above the deep water.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

Related Words

• coast
• shore
• waterfront