Beach , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beached (bēcht);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Beaching.]
To run
or drive (as
a vessel or
a boat) upon
a beach; to
strand; as, to beach a ship.
Beach (bēch), n.; pl. Beaches
(-&ebreve;z). [Cf. Sw. backe hill, Dan. bakke, Icel.
bakki hill, bank. Cf.
Bank.]
1. Pebbles, collectively; shingle.
2. The shore of
the sea, or
of a lake, which is washed by the
waves; especially, a sandy or pebbly shore; the strand.
Beach flea (Zoöl.), the common name of many species of amphipod Crustacea, of the family
Orchestidæ, living on the
sea beaches, and leaping like fleas. --
Beach grass (Bot.), a coarse grass (Ammophila
arundinacea), growing on the
sandy shores of lakes and seas, which, by its interlaced running rootstocks, binds the sand together, and resists the encroachment of the waves. -- Beach wagon, a light open wagon with two or more
seats. -- Raised beach, an accumulation of water-worn stones, gravel, sand, and other shore deposits, above the present level of wave
action, whether actually raised by elevation of the coast,
as in Norway, or left by the receding waters, as in many lake
and river regions.
Hear it pronounced