Meaning & use
beach town
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Meanings
nouncountable
a town by the sea that is known for its beach and often attracts visitors.
Grammar: Countable, so use a/an or a plural: a beach town, two beach towns.
Patterns
- a beach town
- a small beach town
- live in a beach town
- visit a beach town
We spent the weekend in a quiet beach town on the south coast.
The beach town gets very crowded in July and August.
She grew up in a small beach town where everyone knew each other.
nouncountable
a town whose main business and character come from its beach and seaside tourism.
Grammar: Often used with adjectives like popular, busy, or sleepy to describe the town's style.
Patterns
- a popular beach town
- a sleepy beach town
- a beach town on the coast
It's a popular beach town, so hotels fill up fast in summer.
They turned the old fishing village into a busy beach town.
After retirement, my parents moved to a sleepy beach town.
Word forms
| plural | beach towns |
|---|
Common combinations
- a small beach town
- We stayed in a small beach town with one main street.
- a popular beach town
- Brighton is a popular beach town for day trips.
- a beach town on the coast
- It's a beach town on the coast of Portugal.
- grow up in a beach town
- He grew up in a beach town and learned to surf as a child.
- a beach town gets crowded
- The beach town gets crowded as soon as the weather turns warm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- seaside town
- Seaside town is the usual British term and stresses the town's position by the sea rather than its sandy beach.
- resort town
- Resort town suggests a place built mainly for tourists, with hotels and entertainment; a beach town may be quieter and more residential.
- coastal town
- Coastal town simply means a town on the coast and does not necessarily have a beach or a tourist feel.
Word family
- beach noun
- the area of sand or stones next to the sea.
- beachfront adjective
- located directly beside the beach, as in a beachfront hotel.
- beachgoer noun
- a person who spends time at the beach.
Commonly confused: beach town or beachfront?
beach town vs beachfront
Beachfront is an adjective or noun meaning the land right next to the beach; a beach town is the whole town, which may be some distance from the sand.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'beach town' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The natural preposition is 'on the coast'. 'In the coast' and 'at the coast' are not used in this way, and 'of the coast' does not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beach town”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.