beach
noun
an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.
Showing results for beach.
Search instead for
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.
-
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"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Spelling Practice 2, Unit 5
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
He’s gone to camps, he’s taken lessons from private coaches, he’s run at the beach, he’s trained in the early morning and late at night to keep his dream alive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Thousands of olive ridley turtles came to La Escobilla beach in Oaxaca, Mexico, to lay their eggs within 48 hours, according to sanctuary officials.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
“I still don’t know which,” he said, setting out to clear the seaweed and tamp down the sand at the world’s only cricket club to play all its home matches on the beach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Bettina Trump's Instagram post was accompanied by 20 photos including one of the newlywed couple on a beach, and others of President Trump's other children Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Squarely behind them both was a big shingled building that looked like a fancy beach club in the summer.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
Erosion chewed away the coast from Carlsbad to Long Beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
The record book also noted that a similar-sized crowd attended Madonna's free concert on Copacabana Beach in May 2024 during her Celebration Tour.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The incident, at Sorrento Beach in Perth's north, has reignited debate about how to keep beachgoers safe in Australia.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Top donors and leaders of the University of Michigan gathered for a barbecue in May at the sun-soaked waterfront estate of Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison in Palm Beach County, Fla.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Their misfortune began one day at Briny Beach.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
D-Day, on 6 June 1944, saw British, American and Canadian troops storm beaches along the Normandy coastline to begin the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
“And creating a lifestyle around it — going to different beaches — and meeting friends.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Also in June, a woman was mauled by a shark at one of Australia's most popular beaches in Sydney.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
In some San Diego area beaches, Guidera says, queer representation can still feel like an anomaly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“Bruno searched the sandy beaches, and the public parks...”
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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
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
Grandma returned to the stove, leaving Mrs. Weidenbach beached by the kitchen table, where she overlooked Mary Alice and me.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
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 authorities and researchers, baffled by the behavior, feared that a mass beaching was imminent.
From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
Once the whales began beaching themselves on the shore, wildlife authorities launched an emergency response effort in a bid to save them.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2023
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
