Beach, Coast, Shore

Voice of America

07-03-2025

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Doyeon in Korea about the usage of three similar words. Here is the question:
Hello.
I want to know the differences between
the beach, . . . coast and shore.
Thank you.
You ask a useful question, Doyeon. Beach, shore and coast are related words, but they have some important differences.
Beach
The word 'beach' is the most specific of the three words. The Collins online dictionary defines beach as 'a nearly level stretch of pebbles and sand beside a sea, lake, etc., often washed by high water.'
Ocean beaches are popular places to visit. We often use the phrase 'at the beach' to express the idea of spending time in the general area of the beach, as in the following example:
They will vacation at the beach this summer.
We usually say 'on the beach' when describing specific activities we do there:
She went for a walk on the beach.
I'm going to spend my afternoon on the beach.
They are playing football on the beach.
Coast
The Learning English Word Book defines coast as 'land on the edge of the ocean.' We can use the word to describe a wide area, however. For example, Baltimore, Maryland is an East Coast city even though it is several kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean.
Here are more examples of how we can use 'coast' in a sentence.
The Florida coast has many nice towns and beaches.
The coast of California extends over 1,300 kilometers.
Like the expression 'at the beach,' we can say 'on the coast' when describing the general area, as in the following example:
Her mother has lived on the coast for 30 years.
We can use the expression 'off the coast of' to describe an area of ocean or sea relative to a place on land:
The island is about 60 kilometers off the coast of Africa.
Shore
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines the word 'shore' as 'the land bordering a usually large body of water.' Shore can sometimes mean the beach, but not always. For example, you might swim to shore and come out of the water onto a beach. But you could also come to shore at a port with no beach in sight.
And we can use 'shore' when discussing the general area, just like we do with the word 'coast.' The following example shows this meaning:
The northern shore has many nice towns and beaches.
For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? We want to hear from you! Do you like to spend time at the coast? Send us an email at [e-mail]. And please let us know where you are from, too.
And that's Ask a Teacher.
I'm Andrew Smith.
Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
specific – adj. precise, relating to one thing and not others
pebble – n. a small rock