# beach

> English word · Noun · IPA /biːt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #1,263

## Definitions
1. The shore of a body of water, especially when sandy or pebbly.
2. A horizontal strip of land, usually sandy, adjoining water.
3. The loose pebbles of the seashore, especially worn by waves; shingle.
4. Synonym of gravel trap.
5. A dry, dusty pitch or situation, as though playing on sand.
6. Euphemistic form of bitch (taboo swear word).

## Etymology
From Middle English bache, bæcche (“bank, sandbank”), from Old English beċe (“beck, brook, stream”), from Proto-West Germanic *baki, from Proto-Germanic *bakiz (“brook”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“flowing water”).
Cognates
Cognate with Cimbrian pach (“brook, creek, stream”), Dutch beek (“brook, stream”), German Bach (“brook, stream”), German Low German Beek (“brook, stream”), Luxembourgish Baach (“brook, stream”), Mòcheno pòch (“brook, creek, stream”), Vilamovian bāh, baoch (“brook, stream”), Danish bæk (“brook”), Icelandic bekkur (“creek, spring, stream”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk bekk (“brook, creek, stream”), Swedish bäck (“brook, creek, stream”); also Lithuanian banga (“billow, wave”). More at batch, beck.

## Easily confused with
- **beat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beat)
- **bear** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bear)
- **beam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beam)
- **bean** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bean)
- **blah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-blah)
- **beth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beth)
- **beck** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beck)
- **beau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beau)
- **bead** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bead)
- **beak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beak)
- **brah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-brah)
- **beal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beal)
- **black** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-black)
- **bitch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bitch)
- **bunch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bunch)
- **bench** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bench)
- **bears** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-bears)
- **beast** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beast)
- **beats** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beats)
- **beans** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/beach-vs-beans)

## Common misspellings (7)
`baech`, `bbeach`, `beacch`, `beachh`, `beahc`, `becah`, `ebach`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/beach