# beach

Pronunciation: say "BEECH" US /bit͡ʃ/, UK /biːt͡ʃ/

## Noun

1. The shore of a sea, lake, or river, especially where it is sandy or pebbly.
   - Simple: The edge of the sea, a lake, or a river, often sandy or covered in small stones.
   - _Fishermen dragged their nets up onto the beach at dusk._
   - _Smooth stones covered the beach where the river met the sea._
4. Euphemistic form of bitch: a disagreeable or spiteful person, usually a woman, named in a thinly disguised way. — Euphemistic form of bitch (taboo swear word).
   - Simple: Another word for bitch that sounds milder: an insult for an unkind person, usually a woman.
   - _She muttered under her breath that her boss was a real beach._
   - _Quit acting like a beach and just apologize._

## Verb

2. Of a boat, whale, or other large thing: to run or be brought aground onto the shore.
   - Simple: To bring a boat onto the shore, or for a boat or whale to end up stuck on the shore.
   - _The crew beached the lifeboat on the sand to make repairs._
   - _Sailors often beach their small craft to wait out rough weather._
3. To become stuck when a vehicle's underside rests on an obstacle or soft ground, leaving the wheels unable to gain traction.
   - Simple: When a vehicle gets stuck with its bottom resting on the ground and its wheels unable to grip.
   - _The jeep beached on a hidden rock, its wheels spinning uselessly in the air._
   - _Inexperienced drivers often beach their vehicles on steep, rutted tracks._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The loose, wave-worn pebbles of the seashore; shingle.
- (noun) A gravel trap beside a racing circuit, built to slow and stop cars that leave the track.
- (noun) A dry, dusty pitch or playing surface that behaves as though the game were being played on sand.

## Origin

Probably from Middle English 'bache' meaning 'bank' or 'sandbank', from Old English 'beċe' ('brook, stream'), which traces back through Proto-Germanic '*bakiz' to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'flowing water'. If so, it is related to Dutch 'beek', German 'Bach', and Swedish 'bäck', all meaning brook or stream.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/beach (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).