beachcomber
Americannoun
-
a person who lives by gathering saleable articles of jetsam, refuse, etc., from beaches.
-
a vagrant who lives on the seashore, especially a nonnative person living in such a way on a South Pacific island.
-
a long wave rolling in from the ocean onto the beach.
noun
-
a person who searches shore debris for anything of worth, esp a vagrant living on a beach
-
(in British Columbia) a person who is paid for salvaging loose logs and returning them to logging companies
-
a long high wave rolling onto a beach
Other Word Forms
- beachcombing noun
Etymology
Origin of beachcomber
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.
As an avid beachcomber, and someone who spends a lot of time in the ocean, I’ve encountered sargassum a few times.
From Slate • Jul. 16, 2023
With his long face, heavy glasses and thinning hair, he padded around the office like a beachcomber in old sneakers, baggy pants and rumpled polo shirts, schmoozing with the staff.
From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2023
“The upshot of this line of precedent is that government-authorized invasions of property — whether by plane, boat, cable, or beachcomber — are physical takings requiring just compensation,” he wrote.
From Washington Post • Jun. 23, 2021
Soon, moving along the rows of the periodic table like a beachcomber on a shore, Cade began to experiment with salts of rubidium, cerium and strontium.
From Nature • Aug. 25, 2019
He reminded me of a beachcomber from Key West.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
