beast

adj

Etymology: From Middle English beeste, beste, from Old French beste (French bête), from Latin bēstia (“animal, beast”); many cognates – see bēstia.

1. great; excellent; powerful

   “There is another type from Siemens which is the HYB 39S64XXX(AT/ATL) -8B version (notice the "B" and the end) which is totally beast altogether.”

   “Translation: a piece of crap, but the rest of the car was totally beast.”

name

1. A figure in the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse), often identified with Satan or the Antichrist.

   “The Number of the Beast Is 666 (13:16-18) John's vision concludes with the notorious reference to the "mark of the beast" and the number 666.”

2. A wild, or seemingly-wild, animal that roams free in a country where it is usually only found in zoos.

   “the Beast of Bodmin Moor”

3. A cadet's basic training at West Point.

   “Plebes spend their first summer at Cadet Basic Training — Beast Barracks — where they get soldierized.”

   “I was able to keep up with the herd and evade the Beast. Cadet Basic Training ended with a rigorous twenty four-hour exercise that included a twelve-mile, rite-of-passage road march to West Point […]”

noun

Etymology: From Middle English beeste, beste, from Old French beste (French bête), from Latin bēstia (“animal, beast”); many cognates – see bēstia.

1. Any four-footed land mammal.

   “Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.”

2. All non-human animals seen as a group.

   “Language is what separates man and beast.”

3. A person who behaves in a violent, antisocial or uncivilized manner.
4. A domestic animal, especially a bovine farm animal.

   “[…] it always had the making of a fine beast about it, but up to the time I had it up here in a stall by itself it did not get the chance to make any headway [ie, fatten], all its mates were down on it and it never seemed to fill itself. […] A big framed beast takes a lot of food — expensive food at that [—] to keep it doing […]”

   “Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together.”

5. A monstrously unusual and dangerous animal.
6. Anything regarded as larger or more powerful than one of its normal size or strength.

   “That is a beast of a stadium.”

   “The subwoofer that comes with this set of speakers is a beast.”

7. Someone who is particularly impressive, especially athletically or physically.
8. A sex offender.

   “Shouts had been heard: 'We're coming to kill you, beasts.' In desperation, Rule 43s had tried to barricade their doors[…]”

   “For many prisoners and in many prisons, antipathy towards 'nonces' or 'beasts' is little more than an idea[…]”

9. Something unpleasant and difficult.

   “[…] Even unopposed, the natural obstacles are formidable, and defending his line of advance will be a beast of a problem."”

   “He'd be in the hospital a few days — broken collarbone, a cast on his arm, a beast of a headache — but fine.”

10. A thing or matter, especially a difficult or unruly one.

    “Now, the nucleus of a heavy element is a very peculiar beast.”

    “'Lucy Leave', also known as 'Lucy Lea in Blue Tights', is a stranger beast altogether. Musically it is as derivative as everything else the band was playing at this time”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English beeste, beste, from Old French beste (French bête), from Latin bēstia (“animal, beast”); many cognates – see bēstia.

1. To impose arduous exercise upon, either as training or as punishment.

   “Recalling his training experiences in the Army and now the Prison Service, this young male officer remarked: In the Army, to get beasted was to be given a lot of psychological pressure […]”

2. To bully or harass.

   “The old school of prisoner who have seen it all when, now I don't mean this nastily, when they were beasted, and they did what they were told, there were no ifs or buts, nowadays there are questions, there are grey areas and we're more sympathetic […]”

3. To engage in sexual intercourse with, particularly in an illicit context.

   “That teacher is under investigation for beasting wee 'uns.”