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beach

Pronunciation: /biːtʃ/
Translate beach | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of beach

noun

  • a pebbly or sandy shore, especially by the sea between high- and low-water marks:fabulous sandy beaches

verb

[with object]
  • run or haul up (a boat or ship) on to a beach:at the water’s edge a rowing boat was beached
  • (of an angler) land (a fish) on a beach: he managed to beach a fine trout
  • (also be beached) [no object] (of a whale or similar animal) become stranded out of the water:we don’t know what causes whales to beach
  • leave (someone) at a loss:competitive procurement seems to have beached several firms

Origin:

mid 16th century (denoting shingle on the seashore): perhaps related to Old English bæce, bece 'brook' (an element that survives in place names such as Wisbech and Sandbach), assuming an intermediate sense 'pebbly river valley'

beach in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of beach in the US English dictionary
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