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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

Etymology

Origin of beach

First recorded in 1525–35; of obscure origin

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

With the scrape Debbie and Judith find themselves in, a beach holiday is out of the question.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

Rode my bike 21 miles on the beach yesterday in 95-degree weather.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

The 43-year-old and her family arrived at the beach at about 11:00, and recalled seeing the victims having a "great time" together.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

“So then they asked me to walk down this beach, and every 10 minutes you’d hear ‘Rolling!’ and I’d have to lie down and hide behind these dunes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

I was smart enough to wear my beach visor and sunglasses, but I can already feel the tips of my ears starting to bake.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Ashley Monconduit, owner of SnoCorner near Long Beach Polytechnic High School, ordered a custom food cart from Ramirez in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

On July 4, a person called Newport Beach police reporting they saw dogs locked in a vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Beach says it is reviewing its dividend framework and will update investors next month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

People have described how bystanders rushed to the water to help, including teenagers who worked at the nearby Seaview Beach Diner and an off-duty paramedic.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

It’s funny to think Eddie’s working to stay in Driftaway Beach, while I’m working as hard as possible to leave.

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

The nomination included the five D-Day beaches known by their code names: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

On Friday, authorities ordered the evacuation of 40,000 of people from Cap Ferret, a peninsula in southwestern France that draws wealthy vacationers to its white sand beaches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Outside the stadium, bars, beaches and Metro stations became theaters of drama and triumph, culminating in hours-long revelry all throughout the city at after-parties and postgame celebrations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

We didn’t have whales, just freshwater fish like alewifes, which stunk up the beaches with annual die-offs that occurred in huge numbers.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

They went back to Mexico City, where their new friends told them to go to Manzanillo, a port town situated on the Pacific Ocean with beautiful beaches.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

But I can choose to recognize that some performers, artistic works and brands are simply too big to fail or bury, so they become some version of a beached grey whale’s corpse.

From Salon ● May 14, 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

Tasmania's Department of Natural Resources and Environment said 157 false killer whales had beached near Arthur River, in the island's north west.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2025

Osh had told me many times—so often that it had become like a bedtime story—how he’d found me in an old skiff that had beached itself on the wrack line overnight.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

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

A spokesperson from the National Weather Service in Monterey attributed high tides for beaching the bomb.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2024

A pod of nearly 100 pilot whales displayed unusual behavior before beaching themselves in Australia.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2023

She could feel the dream shallowing, like a sleek ship beaching on a shoal.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• coast
• shore
• waterfront