beast

[ beest ]
See synonyms for: beastbeastsbeastlike on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. any nonhuman animal, especially a large, four-footed mammal.

  2. the crude animal nature common to humans and the lower animals: Hunger brought out the beast in him.

  1. a cruel, coarse, filthy, or otherwise beastlike person.

  2. a live creature, as distinguished from a plant: What manner of beast is this?

  3. the beast, the Antichrist. Revelation 13:18.

Origin of beast

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English be(e)ste, from Old French beste (French bête ), from Latin bēstia

synonym study For beast

1. See animal.

Other words for beast

Other words from beast

  • beastlike, adjective

Words Nearby beast

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use beast in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for beast

beast

/ (biːst) /


noun
  1. any animal other than man, esp a large wild quadruped

  2. savage nature or characteristics: the beast in man

  1. a brutal, uncivilized, or filthy person

verb
  1. (tr) military slang, slang, mainly British to punish or torture (someone) in a manner that involves excessive physical exercise

Origin of beast

1
C13: from Old French beste, from Latin bestia, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012