beast | meaning of beast in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Animalsbeastbeast /biːst/ ●○○ noun [countable]    1 writtenHBAAL an animal, especially a large or dangerous one► see thesaurus at animal2 CRUEL old-fashioned someone who is cruel or unpleasant  You beast! Let go!3 something of a particular type or that has a particular quality – usually used humorously SYN animal  A city at night is a very different beast.4 → the beast in somebodyExamples from the Corpusbeast• They were thirsty and starving, vacant-eyed beasts with bellies bloated from hunger and protruding ribs.• There are several images, which are clearly icons, showing isolated pillars with a pair of attendant heraldic beasts.• The tribesmen assumed the names of beasts and in their rites wore animal masks.• Philip has a real beast of a father.• I'm lucky that beast didn't bite my arm off.• He had a good scientific understanding and quickly dismissed the beast.• The striped markings enable the beast to become invisible against a wide range of backgrounds by day or night.• The beast also chased Etty Moorhen within an inch of her life.• The El Niño weather pattern is an unpredictable beast.different beast• A health standard based on cost is a different beast.• But Hawksmoor is a different beast.• But it seems a different beast altogether now that I can ride on top.Origin beast (1100-1200) Old French beste, from Latin bestia