beast

noun

1
a
: a four-footed mammal as distinguished from a human being, a lower vertebrate, and an invertebrate
b
: a lower animal as distinguished from a human being
c
: an animal as distinguished from a plant
d
: an animal under human control
2
: a contemptible person
3
: something formidably difficult to control or deal with

Examples of beast in a Sentence

dogs and other four-footed beasts the birds and beasts of the forest They were attacked by a savage beast. He's a cruel, hateful beast!
Recent Examples on the Web And as with the Enola Holmes movies, Brown is the best part of this feminist spin on what’s usually a boys’ adventure narrative involving slashing swords and slaying beasts. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024 Murphy joins the series as Emmett, a father who's given up hope after losing his own family to the beasts. Danny Horn, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2024 For the premiere, Brown turned to Nicolas Ghesquière to outfit her in a custom Louis Vuitton dress, beaded to look like the scaly beast. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Mar. 2024 This measure will only feed that bureaucratic beast. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 The metal, fire-breathing beast grins into the flickering glare. Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2024 While the concept was formed decades ago, it’s grown into a new beast in recent years, with many stadiums now boasting surrounding entertainment districts. Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2024 Ignoring male beasts and their bravado had freed the filmmakers to capture the wisdom of nature’s matriarchs, such as the elephant who leads her herd along ancient savanna pathways. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 For example, a story of the mythical beast Nianshou was commonly told around the new year, believing the creature would arrive to eat livestock and crops and cause massive destruction. Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English beste, from Anglo-French, from Latin bestia

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of beast was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near beast

Cite this Entry

“Beast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beast. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

beast

noun
1
a
: a four-footed mammal as distinguished from human beings and from lower animals both with and without backbones
b
: a farm animal especially when kept for heavy work
2
: a mean or brutal person

More from Merriam-Webster on beast

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