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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. 2022

Words related to beatnik

bohemian, free spirit, nonconformist, hippie, demonstrator, dropout, flower child, iconoclast, maverick, peacenik, protester, radical

How to use beatnik in a sentence

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
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