Jump To:

• beach
  beach

  noun

  an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.
• Beach
  Beach

  noun

  Alfred Ely, 1826–96, U.S. editor, publisher, and inventor.

beach

¹ American  

[beech] / bitʃ /

noun

• beaches
  plural

1. 

   an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore.

2. the part of the shore of an ocean, sea, large river, lake, etc., washed by the tide or waves.

   Synonyms:

   littoral, strand, seashore, coast

3. the area adjacent to a seashore.

   We're vacationing at the beach.

---

verb (used with object)

• beaches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• beached,
  past participle,  past
• beaching
  present participle

1. Nautical. to haul or run onto a beach.

   We beached the ship to save it.

2. to make inoperative or unemployed.

   Synonyms:

   ground

Beach ² American  

[beech] / bitʃ /

noun

1. Alfred Ely, 1826–96, U.S. editor, publisher, and inventor.

2. Amy Marcey Cheney 1867–1944, U.S. composer and pianist.

3. Moses Yale, 1800–68, U.S. newspaper publisher.

4. Rex Ellingwood 1877–1949, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

5. Sylvia Woodbridge, 1887–1962, U.S. bookseller and publisher in France.

---

beach British  

/ biːtʃ /

noun

1. an extensive area of sand or shingle sloping down to a sea or lake, esp the area between the high- and low-water marks on a seacoast

---

verb

1. to run or haul (a boat) onto a beach

beach Scientific  

/ bēch /

1. The area of accumulated sand, stone, or gravel deposited along a shore by the action of waves and tides. Beaches usually slope gently toward the body of water they border and have a concave shape. They extend landward from the low water line to the point where there is a distinct change in material (as in a line of vegetation) or in land features (as in a cliff).

---

Synonym Usage

See shore ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• beachless
  adjective
• unbeached
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beaches
  plural

Participles

• beaching
  present
• beached
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• beach
  simple
• beaches
  simple
• have beached
  perfect
• has beached
  perfect
• am beaching
  progressive
• are beaching
  progressive
• is beaching
  progressive
• have been beaching
  perfect progressive
• has been beaching
  perfect progressive

Past

• beached
  simple
• had beached
  perfect
• was beaching
  progressive
• were beaching
  progressive
• had been beaching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will beach
  simple
• will have beached
  perfect
• will be beaching
  progressive
• will have been beaching
  perfect progressive

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beach Beach beaches beached beaching

One cousin might spend a career building the family business while the others simply collect dividends; one might live near the family beach house and end up overseeing every repair.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 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

During that winter, researchers determined that the more extreme waves were about 50% larger than usual and the level of beach erosion was 76% higher than normal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 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 sat on the beach in the dark to study the stars, and climbed cliffs to see birds in their nests.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, home to about 12,000 sea creatures, is caring this summer for an additional 500 animals seized from wildlife traffickers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

She grew up in Redondo Beach before her family moved to Palos Verdes so the sisters could attend the high school there, according to a notice by Eickenhorst Funeral Services.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

He was taken to a hospital and remained under close medical care until April 21, 2025, when he suffered a heart attack and died at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.

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 Huntington Beach plant produces 450 megawatts of power, which is enough to power nearly half a million homes.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

And multiple Southern California beaches that are “so deeply tied to the state’s heart and soul” could be lost.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

But in the summer the village with its low houses surrounded by vegetable gardens and fruit trees becomes a tourist hotspot thanks to its long sandy beaches.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

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

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

In the distance, a city was carved out of the wilderness, surrounded by lush green forests on one side and icy black beaches on the other.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

But I can choose to recognize that some performers, artistic works and brands are simply too big to fail or bury, so they become some version of a beached grey whale’s corpse.

From Salon ● May 14, 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

But not before Maxine sings a song to a beached whale, calling it back into the sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2024

But Jeanne is coughing and choking and Jacob is gasping like a beached fish and William, great William, is sinking.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

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

Wildlife experts speculated the beaching could be an indicator of stress or illness within the pod, but said the reasons would likely remain a mystery.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2023

She could feel the dream shallowing, like a sleek ship beaching on a shoal.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• coast
• shore
• waterfront

---