beachhead
Americannoun
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the area that is the first objective of a military force landing on an enemy shore.
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a secure initial position that has been gained and can be used for further advancement; foothold.
The company has won a beachhead in the personal computer market.
noun
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an area on a beach that has been captured from the enemy and on which troops and equipment are landed
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the object of an amphibious operation
Etymology
Origin of beachhead
Explanation
During war, troops coming onshore into enemy territory sometimes set up a beachhead, a temporary line of defense they hold until more soldiers arrive. The World War II term beachhead gets its name from the fact that seagoing forces have landed on a beach. It's also influenced by the earlier bridgehead, a defended position at one end of a bridge. As troops on a beachhead wait for reinforcements, they take a position that's safe and secure, from which they can defend themselves and anticipate advancing further. Figuratively, a beachhead can also be the first step you take toward achievement or progress.
Vocabulary lists containing beachhead
World War II
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myPerspectives 10.3
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The Fault in Our Stars
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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.
It’s the latter portion — “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” — that leaves room for interpretation, forming the beachhead upon which legal arguments against birthright citizenship have been mounted.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Like many big drugmakers, AbbVie has sought to build a beachhead in cancer drugs, which are among the industry’s biggest sellers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026
But the caucus ultimately decided to back affiliation as long as A.L.U. members ratified it, saying it would help “turn the beachhead we’ve secured in Staten Island into a militant, autonomous local.”
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2024
Meanwhile the French Mandate hived off Lebanon from Syria to create a strategic beachhead and imposed new boundaries over the whole territory in the early 1920s, before an Arab rebellion which they also ruthlessly suppressed.
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2023
It was not easy for us to break out from our beachhead.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
