Nautical. to haul or run onto a beach.
We beached the ship to save it.
to make inoperative or unemployed.
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.
See shore 1.
First recorded in 1525–35; of obscure origin
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.
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In Rhode Island, a case has been ongoing for three years over a law that moved the boundary of a public beach further inland.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Every year, local people come along and rub beach sand into the marble headstones so the names of those U.S. soldiers can still be read.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
The gated estate came with more than a half-acre of land and included a private boat dock, heated pool and spa, and private beach access.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
Meaning he won’t spend the time between now and Nov. 3 at some swank beach resort, sipping one of those colorful cocktails with a little paper parasol while musing over his inaugural address.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
I text Mom before I head down to check the beach.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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.
