beast

noun

ˈbēst 

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

Synonyms

• brute
• villain
• monster
• savage
• devil

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

The beasts were spotted at around 11:30 a.m. near Beach 32nd Street. —Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2025

That's because, even though restaurants can be unpredictable beasts, food and labor are largely considered to be controllable costs. —Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

See, the Ram 1500 TRX was a beast, powered by a supercharged Hemi 6.2-liter V8. —Kristin Shaw, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

Advertisement The adventures of these mercenaries-on-a-mission will dovetail with those of a small family, who were sailing around in the ocean for kicks when an unpleasant prehistoric sea beast overturned their boat. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 30 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing beast

• beast epic
• beast fable
• beast mode
• beast of burden
• different beast
• go beast mode
• the belly of the beast

Rhymes for beast

• ceased
• creased
• east
• feast
• fleeced
• geest
• greased
• leased
• least
• pieced
• priest
• yeast

Kids Definition

beast

noun

ˈbēst 

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