beach
noun
an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.
beach
1 American
[beech]
/ bitʃ /
noun
-
beaches
plural
verb (used with object)
-
beaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
beached,
past participle, past
-
beaching
present participle
-
Nautical. to haul or run onto a beach.
We beached the ship to save it.
-
to make inoperative or unemployed.
- Synonyms:
- ground
Beach
2
American
[beech]
/ bitʃ /
noun
-
Alfred Ely, 1826–96, U.S. editor, publisher, and inventor.
-
Amy Marcey Cheney 1867–1944, U.S. composer and pianist.
-
Moses Yale, 1800–68, U.S. newspaper publisher.
-
Rex Ellingwood 1877–1949, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
-
Sylvia Woodbridge, 1887–1962, U.S. bookseller and publisher in France.
beach
British
/ biːtʃ /
noun
verb
beach
Scientific
/ bēch /
Synonym Usage
See shore 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
beachsimple
-
beachessimple
-
have beachedperfect
-
has beachedperfect
-
am beachingprogressive
-
are beachingprogressive
-
is beachingprogressive
-
have been beachingperfect progressive
-
has been beachingperfect progressive
Past
-
beachedsimple
-
had beachedperfect
-
was beachingprogressive
-
were beachingprogressive
-
had been beachingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing beach
"maggie and milly and molly and may"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the mindbending documentary “You Can See Everything,” comedian Nathan Fielder and professed inventor Elizabeth Holmes sit in her beach house staring at each other like gunslingers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Co-owner Lauren Crabbe said sales at one outlet by the beach are up 40% so far this year compared with the same time three years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The dining area continues the breezy beach aesthetic, with a large wooden table and multiple seating areas providing plenty of space for entertaining.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Migrants were put on buses and taken to reception centres for police processing, while cleaning crews moved in to clear the esplanade and beach.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
They walked up the beach, into the trees.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Lawrence, Beach, Allen & Choi, the law firm listed in court records as representing the Sheriff’s Department and Barraza, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The film, which screens Sunday at the Newport Beach Film Festival, stars comedian Aida Rodriguez as Glori, a Brooklyn-based artist and community-center worker.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Peter Harrigan, a 75-year-old retiree in Rehoboth Beach, Del., says his stand-alone Part D plan’s premium is set to jump 85% next year, to nearly $175 a month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
His wife, who is separated from him, lived in their Manhattan apartment until 2023, when she relocated to her own apartment in Miami Beach, records show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Apparently, a couple of Mainers were boating a few miles off Wells Beach and they spotted a large shark not far from the boat.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Today the islands are home to fewer than 50,000 people and are best known for beaches, diving and some World War II battlefields.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026
On a busy, sunny weekend close to Okinawa's capital Naha, life seemed normal as tourists and Americans who appeared to be from the military packed beaches and shopping streets.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Although most returned to Morocco within days, thousands remained in Ceuta, sleeping rough in the streets or on beaches and straining the small city's resources.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
They moved to different parts of the island, swapping the beaches in the south to climb the volcanic Mount Batur in the north, and spending time in the cultural village of Ubud inland.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Fadi glanced at the table the school tree huggers association had set up to raise money for a campaign to clean up local beaches.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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
Their color-coded tale of a traumatized war veteran, his concerned daughter and a beached whale is evocative and unsentimental.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
The tide had gone out some, and I helped Osh push the beached skiff afloat.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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
“It doesn’t cut a dent in their population,” he said of the beaching phenomenon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2024
A pod of nearly 100 pilot whales displayed unusual behavior before beaching themselves in Australia.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2023
She could feel the dream shallowing, like a sleek ship beaching on a shoal.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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