Meaning & use
beach combing
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
The activity of walking along a beach looking for shells, sea glass, or other interesting things to collect.
Grammar: Uncountable; used without 'a' or plural: 'Beach combing is fun.'
Patterns
- go beach combing
- beach combing on the beach
On sunny weekends, we go beach combing along the shore.
She found a rare piece of sea glass while beach combing.
Beach combing is a relaxing hobby for many people.
Common combinations
- go beach combing
- Let's go beach combing tomorrow morning.
- beach combing for shells
- The children went beach combing for shells.
- beach combing on the beach
- We spent the afternoon beach combing on the beach.
- beach combing hobby
- Beach combing is a popular hobby in coastal towns.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shell collecting
- Focuses specifically on gathering shells, while beach combing can include any items found on the beach.
Word family
- beachcomber noun
- A person who goes beach combing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'beach combing' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 3 is correct because 'go beach combing' is the standard phrase. Option 1 incorrectly uses 'to' with a gerund; option 2 has wrong subject-verb agreement; option 4 uses 'beach combing' as a verb with an object, which is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beach combing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.