beatnik

[ beet-nik ]

/ ˈbit nɪk /

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noun

(sometimes initial capital letter) a member of the Beat Generation.

a person who rejects or avoids conventional behavior, dress, etc.

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Origin of beatnik

1955–60, Americanism;beat (adj.) (as in Beat Generation) + -nik

Words nearby beatnik

beat it, beatitude, Beatitudes, Beatles, beat man, beatnik, beatniks, beat off, Beaton, beat one's brains out, beat one's head against the wall

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

How to use beatnik in a sentence

While the plan has room for a few beatniks and a couple comparatively progressive intellectuals, most recruits are assigned to take on traditional roles of the era.
Leaving modern NYC for 1950s cult experiment|Patrick Folliard|October 6, 2022|Washington Blade
Guggenheim pulled the confirmed bachelor into her coven of beatnik friends.
Casa de la Torre: The Museum of Mexico’s Liberace|Brandon Presser|March 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After World War II, the Village went through an enormous renaissance as the bohemian beatnik art place.
Why Did Llewyn Davis’s Greenwich Village Disappear?|Andrew Romano|December 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
At an underground party, Joyce introduced Peggy to her friend Abe Drexler (Charlie Hofheimer), a beatnik journalist.
‘Mad Men’ Premiere: Before Season 5, Let's Remember Season 4|Jace Lacob|March 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST

That was the only place in town, as I understood, from the reports, outside of the beatnik place they could.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
He was far, far different than the laughing, beatnik jabbering, youngster he had always seemed.
Black Man's Burden|Dallas McCord Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for beatnik

beatnik

/ (ˈbiːtnɪk) /

noun

a member of the Beat Generation (sense 1)

informal any person with long hair and shabby clothes

Word Origin for beatnik

C20: from beat (n) + -nik, by analogy with Sputnik

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

beatnik

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Origin of beatnik

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How to use beatnik in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for beatnik

Word Origin for beatnik