beach

noun

/biːtʃ/

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an area of sand or small stones (called shingle), next to the sea or a lake
- on the beach tourists sunbathing on the beach
- to the beach He decided to go to the beach for a swim.
- at the beach She often spent summer days at the beach.
- a sandy beach
- a pebble/shingle beach
- a beach bar
- We rented an airy apartment at a beach resort.
Synonyms coast
coast
- beach
- seaside
- shore
- coastline
- sand
- seashore
These are all words for the land beside or near to the sea, a river or a lake.
- coast the land next to or near to the sea or ocean:
  a town on the south coast of Georgia
  The coast road is closed due to bad weather.
  It is nearly always the coast, except when it is uncountable: That’s a pretty stretch of coast.
- beach an area of sand, or small stones, next to the sea or a lake:
  She took the kids to the beach for the day.
  sandy beaches
- seaside (especially British English) an area that is by the sea, especially one where people go for a day or a holiday:
  a trip to the seaside
  It is always the seaside, except when it is used before a noun: a seaside resort. The seaside is British English; in American English seaside is only used before a noun. Instead of go to the seaside you can say go to the ocean/beach/shore.
- shore (especially North American English) an area that is by the ocean or a lake, especially one where people go for a day or a vacation:
  Let's go to the shore.
  The reef runs along the island's north shore.
- coastline the land along a coast, especially when you are thinking of its shape or appearance:
  California’s rugged coastline
- sand a large area of sand on a beach:
  We went for a walk along the sand.
  a resort with miles of golden sands
- the seashore the land along the edge of the sea or ocean, usually where there is sand and rocks:
  He liked to look for shells on the seashore.
beach or seashore?Beach is usually used to talk about a sandy area next to the sea where people lie in the sun or play, for example when they are on holiday.Seashore is used more to talk about the area by the sea in terms of things such as waves, sea shells, rocks, etc, especially where people walk for pleasure.Patterns
- along the coast/beach/shore/coastline/seashore
- on the coast/beach/shore/coastline/sands/seashore
- at the coast/beach/seaside/shore/seashore
- by the coast/seaside/shore/seashore
- a(n) rocky/unspoiled coast/beach/shore/coastline
- to go to the coast/beach/seaside/shore/seashore
Wordfinder
- beach
- cliff
- coast
- dune
- headland
- inlet
- promontory
- sea
- shore
- tide
Wordfinder
- beach
- coast
- harbour
- pier
- sandbank
- sea
- shoreline
- surf
- tide
- wave
Culture the seasidethe seasideIn the 18th century British people started going to the seaside (= places by the sea) for pleasure and for their health. Seaside towns such as Brighton, Lyme Regis and Scarborough became fashionable with the upper class. Bathing in the sea became popular and bathing machines were invented for people to get changed in. Later, towns like Blackpool and Margate, which were close to industrial areas or to London, developed into large seaside resorts to which workers went for a day out or for their holiday. Long piers were built stretching out to sea and soon had a wide range of amusements built on them. Promenades (= wide paths) were built along the shore for people to walk along. Rows of beach huts and chalets (= buildings where people could get changed or sit and have tea) took the place of bathing machines, and deckchairs were for hire on the beach. There were ice-cream sellers, whelk stalls, stalls selling buckets and spades for children to build sandcastles, and Punch and Judy shows. In the early 1900s it became popular to send seaside postcards to friends. Children bought seaside rock (= a long sweet with the name of the place printed through it).Most British people still like to go to the sea for a day out or for a weekend. Resorts like Blackpool continue to be popular, but others are no longer well maintained and rather quiet. British people now prefer to go on holiday to beach resorts in, for example, Spain, Greece or the Caribbean because the weather is more likely to be hot.Americans talk of going to the ocean or the beach, rather than the seaside. Some places, especially on the East coast, have very popular beaches and people travel long distances to go there. Florida is especially popular and at spring break (= a holiday in the spring for high school and college students) it is full of students. It is common for there to be a boardwalk (= a path made of wooden boards) on the beach.Beach activities include swimming, surfing (= riding on top of the waves on a long board) and windsurfing, also called sailboarding (= standing on a board with a sail on it). Many people go to the beach but never go into the water. They spend their time playing games like volleyball (= hitting a large ball backwards and forwards over a net) and Frisbee (= throwing a flat plastic disc). Other people go to the beach to get a tan (= a darker skin from being in the sun) and spend all their time sunbathing (= lying down in the sun). Many people worry about getting skin cancer if they get burnt by the sun and so put on suncream or sunblock to protect their skin. A day at the beach often also involves a picnic or, especially in the US, a barbecue (= meat cooked over an open fire).
Extra Examples
- He walked along the beach.
- She took the kids to the beach for the day.
- She lay on the beach and read her book.
- We could see tourists sunbathing on the beach.
- They met at the beach.
- They sat on a grassy hill overlooking the beach.
- There are miles of beautiful sandy beaches.
- The resort has a beautiful golden beach stretching for miles.
- The island group has over 230 miles of pristine tropical beaches.
- To the south is West Bay, a small port with a shingle beach.
- She met him in a beach bar.
Topics Holidaysa1, Geographya1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- beautiful
- fine
- lovely
- …
verb + beach
- overlook
beach + verb
- stretch
beach + noun
- towel
- umbrella
- house
- …
preposition
- along a/the beach
- at a/the beach
- on a/the beach
- …
See full entry
Word Originmid 16th cent. (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’.