beached

beach

 (bēch)

n.

1. The shore of a body of water, especially when sandy or pebbly.

2. The sand or pebbles on a shore.

3. The zone above the water line at a shore of a body of water, marked by an accumulation of sand, stone, or gravel that has been deposited by the tide or waves.

v. beached, beach·ing, beach·es

v.tr.

1. To run, haul, or bring ashore: beached the rowboat in front of the cabin; hooked a big bluefish but was unable to beach it.

2. To cause (a whale or other sea animal) to be unable to swim free from a beach.

v.intr.

1. To run or be hauled ashore: We beached near the palm trees.

2. To be stranded on a beach. Used of sea animals.

---

[Perhaps Middle English beche, stream, from Old English bece.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

beached

adjective stranded, grounded, abandoned, deserted, wrecked, ashore, marooned, aground, high and dry A beached whale is a creature to be loved, rescued and cared for.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002