From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbeachbeach1 /biːtʃ/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] DNan area of sand or small stones at the edge of the sea or a lake There is a beautiful sandy beach. It's a nice day for going to the beach. We walked along the beach. Our hotel was right next to the beach.COLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUN + beachcrowdedIn 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 beachCorfu 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 beachAll around the coast of Lanzarote are long beaches of golden sand.a white/golden beachThe 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.verbslie on the beachI find it boring just lying on the beach all day.go to the beachThey've gone to the beach for the weekend.walk on/along the beachShe loved to walk along the beach in the early morning.beach + NOUNa beach holiday British English (=a holiday spent mainly at the beach)She loves beach holidays, while he prefers city breaks.a beach resortThis 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 hutsa beach bar/restaurant (=on the beach)We watched the sun go down from the beach bar.a beach towelThey spread out beach towels and opened parasols.beach volleyball/football (=played on the beach)Who wants a game of beach volleyball?GRAMMAR: Patterns with beachon the beach• You use on the beach when thinking of the beach as a surface: I just wanted to lie on the beach and read a book. We played volleyball on the beach. ✗Don’t say: in the beachat the beach• You use at the beach when thinking of the beach as a place: The kids are at the beach.We spent the day at the beach.You can go swimming at the beach.There is a café at the beach. ✗Don’t say: in the beach
Examples from the Corpus
beach• Bring a lawn chair or beach chair for comfortable seating, and leave the alcoholic beverages at home.• Your private beach Enjoy a cool aperitif Can you think of anywhere better for breakfast?• Lagoons, creeks, islands, coves and deserted sandy beaches abound.• The area has miles of unspoiled sandy beaches.• Rip A strong current, commonly experienced on surf beaches.• By nine o'clock the beach was already crowded with people.• We sat there watching the waves breaking on the beach.• Lucy envies a young couple she sees on the beach, imagining the passionate love they will make.• A lavish breakfast buffet, included in the room rate, is served on a patio overlooking the beach.• Let's go to the beach tomorrow.• The beach there is stony; the sandy beach is two blocks to the north.• High tide is often positively dangerous, with vicious dumping waves breaking on the steep slope of the upper beach.beachbeach2 verb [transitive] 1 TTWto pull a boat onto the shore away from the water2 HBATTWif a whale beaches itself or is beached, it swims onto the shore and cannot get back in the water→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
beach• We beach briefly to relieve the pain in our nether portions!• Others were deliberately beached by crews that knew they had no chance to reach harbor.• But her fears were groundless: the generation gap in this instance had him beached on a far shore.Origin beach1 (1500-1600) Perhaps from Old English bæce “small stream” 