beach
noun
an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.
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Beach'S.
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.
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Rex Ellingwood 1877–1949, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
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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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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 5
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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:
"The desert was so beautiful to see. I have also enjoyed the beach, and the ocean. It is inspiring," she says.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Statuettes found on the beach were avoided for fear of bad luck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
“Selling our beach to Elon Musk is just something that is almost unimaginable, it’s unacceptable,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Officials previously said they were aware of a possible party that occurred on the beach but were unsure if there was a connection to the shooting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
There was a wide stretch of beach between the end of the trail and the edge of the lake.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
A Los Angeles Police Department officer died during a training exercise in Huntington Beach on Thursday, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
The Sunday crash of a Learjet in Palm Beach County, Fla.—killing all nine aboard—has cast a spotlight on the regulatory standards for private charter operators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Three days later a second olive ridley laid eggs eight miles south on the sand in Huntington Beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Officials recovered three pieces of the jet’s left elevator between 1.3 to 3.8 miles away from the site of the incident in Palm Beach County, National Transportation Safety Board member Thomas Chapman said Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Rustic thatched-roof cabanas were built on Rest Beach.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Small boat smuggling attempts have increased from 2018 and beaches around areas of Calais and Dunkirk in Northern France have tended to be the traditional launch points.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Nearly 1,050 French officers are now supporting UK-France efforts to stop crossings, with an additional new surge team bolstering operations on Western beaches, according to officials.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Targeted bacterial warnings at certain beaches and rain advisories involving water runoff are more common.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Federal biologists will be monitoring surf conditions and currents at beaches near the aquarium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Sea turtles need beaches, of which Florida has many miles.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
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
The image of the beached horse first lodged in Nolan’s mind over 20 years ago when he was in the running to direct a movie based on another Homeric epic, “The Iliad.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 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
The other two beached in La Jolla and Huntington Beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
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
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
