I. beach 1 S2 W2 /biːtʃ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Perhaps from Old English bæce 'small stream' ]
an area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea or a lake:
a sandy beach
surfers on the beach
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning )
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + beach
▪ crowded
In the summer the beaches get very crowded.
▪ quiet (=with few people on it)
The beaches on this side of the island are quieter.
▪ deserted/empty (=with no one on it)
We took a boat to a deserted beach.
▪ a sandy beach
Corfu is known for its sandy beaches.
▪ a shingle/pebble/pebbly beach (=covered with very small stones)
Both resorts have small shingle beaches.
▪ a rocky beach (=with large rocks on it)
They anchored the boat off a rocky beach.
▪ a long beach
All around the coast of Lanzarote are long beaches of golden sand.
▪ a white/golden beach
The house was beside a dazzling white beach.
▪ a private beach (=owned by someone, so you need permission to use it)
The hotel has its own private beach.
▪ a public beach (=for everyone to use)
The public beaches were very dirty.
■ verbs
▪ lie on the beach
I find it boring just lying on the beach all day.
▪ go to the beach
They've gone to the beach for the weekend.
▪ walk on/along the beach
She loved to walk along the beach in the early morning.
■ beach + NOUN
▪ a beach holiday British English (=a holiday spent mainly at the beach)
She loves beach holidays, while he prefers city breaks.
▪ a beach resort
This is one of the most popular beach resorts in Greece.
▪ a beach hut (=a small building on the beach for storing things such as swimming or sports equipment)
a row of brightly painted beach huts
▪ a beach bar/restaurant (=on the beach)
We watched the sun go down from the beach bar.
▪ a beach towel
They spread out beach towels and opened parasols.
▪ beach volleyball/football (=played on the beach)
Who wants a game of beach volleyball?
II. beach 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to pull a boat onto the shore away from the water
2 . if a ↑ whale beaches itself or is beached, it swims onto the shore and cannot get back in the water