beach

Meanings

Noun

• The shore of a body of water, especially when sandy or pebbly.
• A horizontal strip of land, usually sandy, adjoining water.
• The loose pebbles of the seashore, especially worn by waves; shingle.
• Synonym of gravel trap
• A dry, dusty pitch or situation, as though playing on sand.

Verb

• To run aground on a beach.
• To run (something) aground on a beach.
• To run into an obstacle or rough or soft ground, so that the floor of the vehicle rests on the ground and the wheels cannot gain traction.

Related

Similar words

• sand, strand, backshore
• strand

Origin

• From Middle English bache, bæcche ("bank, sandbank"), from Old English bæċe, beċe ("beck, brook, stream"), from Proto-West Germanic *baki, from Proto-Germanic *bakiz ("brook"), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰog- ("flowing water").
• Cognate with Dutch beek ("brook, stream"), German Bach ("brook, stream"), Swedish bäck ("stream, brook, creek"). More at batch, beck.