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• 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.

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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.

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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

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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).

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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

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Etymology

Origin of beach

First recorded in 1525–35; of obscure origin

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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

Soon, the contents of the cooler “went from looking like smooth beach sand to an eruption of baby turtles,” said Dr. Lance Adams, the aquarium’s director of veterinary services.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2026

My estimate is closer to $200,000, which includes $45,000 for travel, $18,000 for dining and entertainment, and the rest for the beach.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026

“In today’s world, where we don’t think there’s enough justice, she should be on top of the world, not on top of a beach ball, but actually more serious, on top of the world.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

About 3,400 of the tiny plants have been rescued from an area of eroded beach at Culbin Sands, an area of dunes and forest near Findhorn, and moved to a safe location nearby.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

“I completely forgot this was here,” Mom says as we make our way down to the beach.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Panorama has now spoken to several members of staff who were working at the luxury O2 Beach Club in Barbados on the night of Rebekah's death.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2026

A social worker in Delray Beach, Fla., held a pet-supply drive and donated the haul to a local shelter after losing her poodle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2026

Schumer traveled to Biden’s Rehoboth Beach home to urge him to leave the contest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2026

Earlier this week, the county announced that an E. coli outbreak forced Capitola Beach to close and over the weekend, a woman was swept out to sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

Several other boys from the tournament traveled with him and he visited Los Angeles and Long Beach, where he stayed in the home of chess player/entrepreneur Lina Grumette and swam in her pool.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

New research suggests that marine resources washed onto prehistoric beaches helped feed dinosaurs and their prey millions of years ago.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 15, 2026

“There is potential for moderate coastal flooding impacts at times, especially Saturday” for Los Angeles County beaches, the National Weather Service warned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

A spokesperson for TDC urged people, particularly dog walkers, to avoid the affected areas, and to report any deposits of oil on beaches to them.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s teams in the Santa Cruz area warned that ocean conditions can change in an instant, with high tides flooding beaches and cutting off escape routes quickly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

Frodo stood still, hearing far off great seas upon beaches that had long ago been washed away, and sea-birds crying whose race had perished from the earth.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Grizzly bears are — were — omnivores, not picky eaters, and also lazy ones, noshing on berries, roots, acorns, beached whale carcasses and any laggardly young elk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

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

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

And beyond the dead trunks, maybe sixty yards away, was the boat, sitting beached in the marshes under the weak sun.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

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

But besides beating seasonal crowds, winter beaching has another leg up on summer: storm watching.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2024

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

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Related Words

• coast
• shore
• waterfront

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